Neighborhood Tales
by PurpleFunkytown
Summary: TD version of Desperate Housewives. Sadie Ross committed suicide, leaving her friends in shock. While Katie is haunted by the unknown motive of her best friend's crime, the others deal with problems of their own. Gwen rejects marriage, Bridgette questions her relationship, Courtney starts an unexpected fling and Heather finds herself in a love triangle. GxT,BxG,DxC,HxAxJ
1. The Art of Dying

**Hello, dear readers! It was about time I started a new story and because I was so addicted to watching _Desperate Housewives_ these past few days, I had a great idea. Why not mix TD and DH? **

**This story will be mostly inspired by the show, however it won't be identical. Still, the DH fans can recognize a few elements in this story. The characters will be around 30, and the story will focus on various stages of romantic relationships, not just on marriage. Also, TDI/TDA/TDWT never took place.**

**For your curiosity, here's a hint of what pairings you're going to encounter: Gwen x Trent, Duncan x Courtney, Alejandro x Heather, Bridgette x Geoff and many more. **

**I hope you will enjoy reading the story. For any questions/suggestions/comments, please review or send me a message. Enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Total Drama Series or Desperate Housewives.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1-The Art of Dying<strong>

_My name is Sadie Ross. I moved into the suburbs before I turned thirty and led an ordinary life, without any spectacular events. I had a job as a clerk at a small cosmetic shop. I had a lovely white house, beautifully decorated by myself. I even had my own garden which I tended every day. But most important, I had friends. And they were probably the most affected by my death._

_On that Tuesday, I didn't step out of the routine. I woke up, made my bed, got dressed and went to work. After a few hours, when I got home, I cleaned the entire house, watered all my plants and fed my cat. Yes, everything went as usual, except for the fact that at 16:35, I took out a gun from my drawer and killed myself._

A tall and slim young woman with tanned skin and shoulder-length dark hair knocked on Sadie's door. She was wearing a white sleeveless shirt and a grey skirt. She knocked once, twice and then tried the door. It wasn't locked, so she walked in.

"Sadie?" she called. "Sadie!"

_The one who had discovered my body was my best friend, Katie St Clair. She worked as a real estate agent and was the very first friend I had made after moving. That evening, she came by my house to tell me about the latest deal she had closed. But she never got the chance…_

Katie walked into the living room and saw Sadie lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. Her eyes were open and next to her, the gun was shining in the sunlight coming through the window. Katie shrieked and fell on her knees. Tears were running down her cheeks as she continued calling her friend's name.

"Sadie, no! Sadie!"

_The police confirmed it had been suicide. But no one, not even Katie, could figure out _why_ I committed suicide._

* * *

><p><em>My funeral was held two days later and all my friends from Wawanakwa Lane gathered to say their final goodbyes. Katie had organized the ceremony, with a little help from her friends. Bridgette Baxter arranged with a florist and bought white roses, my favorites. Bridgette was a lovely and sweet girl, always willing to help. She and her husband Geoff always invited everyone to the parties they organized. They seemed the most fun and compatible couple on the street.<em>

Bridgette fixed Geoff's blonde hair, while looking absently over his shoulder. He gently caressed her cheek.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

She shook her head. Her green eyes had tears in them. "I don't understand why she did it." She buried her face in his chest. "Why would somebody commit suicide?"

"I don't know, Bridge. But let's try to be strong, for Katie." Geoff said, as he stroked her long blonde hair. "We should go inside the church. The ceremony is about to start."

Bridgette wiped her tears and nodded.

"You're right, I should be strong. But it's just that I can't see anything good in death. Many say it's natural, but I-." She was cut off by Geoff who took her hand in his. That was always a sign for Bridgette that it was alright, he was by her side.

* * *

><p><em>Courtney Atkins, who was known as a leader with an iron fist, arranged the burial-related details. As a lawyer, she knew how to get everything done her way, so she had absolutely no problem getting the best deal for an unusually small price. However, although she could obtain almost anything that her heart desired, there was still one thing missing in her life: love. For a while, she thought that she could be tied to her work for all her life without having any regrets. Sadly, she was wrong. Her career couldn't fill in for a lover and Courtney knew that. <em>

A tanned brunette in her thirties walked into the church, talking on her cell phone. She was wearing a black business suit and was still arguing over the phone when she reached the coffin. She then turned the cell phone off and saw Katie, who was wiping her tears with a white handkerchief.

"Hello, Courtney." Katie greeted, trying to smile.

"Oh, Katie, I'm so sorry. Sadie was your best friend; you shouldn't have seen her that way, lying dead on the floor." Courtney said as she hugged her.

"Thank you for coming, Courtney. It means a lot to me that you offered to help. I know you and Sadie weren't very close, that's why your gesture is extraordinary."

"She was a good person." Courtney affirmed. "Too bad she did…this."

Katie sighed and buried her head in her palms. Courtney patted her shoulder and glanced at the closed coffin standing behind her.

* * *

><p><em>Heather Burromuerto had been in charge of the invitations. She had spread the word in a subtle and elegant way, two adjectives that described her perfectly. She had entered the modeling world with elegance and subtlety and then made her way to the top. With elegance and subtlety, she also managed to attract a rich and successful husband. You see, Alejandro Burromuerto saw those two qualities in Heather and caught his attention, but he fell in love with her because of her other signature traits: ambition, cunningness, determination and passion.<em>

Heather walked down the street, by her husband's side. She was slim, had beautiful long black hair, deep grey eyes and was wearing a long black dress that emphasized her curves. Alejandro was brunette, tanned and one could tell by his figure that he certainly worked out.

"We're going to be late." She muttered.

"I thought you liked making an entrance." Alejandro replied.

"At a funeral? It's the only event where I'm not the center of attention." Heather added.

"Why are we doing this again? This Sadie Ross wasn't even your closest friend. You bought cosmetics from her a few times, chatted a few times over a cup of coffee and that's about it."

"I know." Heather replied simply. "But I owe it to Katie. The two were best friends and she's devastated now that Sadie's dead. And I feel really sorry for her. Sadie didn't have any close relatives, so Katie had to take care of almost everything for the funeral. The least I can do is go there and give her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder."

"So you _do_ have a heart." Alejandro chuckled.

"Did you ever doubt that I had?" Heather asked.

"You're always full of surprises." He said as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

><p><em>Gwen Houston was the one who had my tombstone engraved. She was a painter, so her artistic nature helped her choose the words, the font and the style so as to fit my personality. When she found out about my death, Gwen felt a huge sorrow and a feeling of emptiness. She called her boyfriend Trent and asked him to come home from work. And for a moment, frightened by the perspective of inevitable death, she even considered telling him that they should get married as soon as possible. But when he arrived home, she rushed into his arms crying, but never mentioned a thing about marriage. Death, however dark it seemed, couldn't change her firm belief that marriage was the root of evil. <em>

Gwen searched through the contents of her purse, trying to find her handkerchief. She never cried in public, but it was always better to be prepared. A streak of dark hair fell on her pale cheek. She sighed heavily and turned her purse upside down, letting all her belongings fall in the grass of the church yard. Gwen quickly found her blue handkerchief and smiled victoriously.

"Wow, and I thought you were only messy at home."

Gwen looked up and saw Trent standing next to her, with his black hair neatly arranged and his smile as charming as always. He offered her his hand to get up.

"Don't you dare criticize my lack of organization. I am an artist, therefore I am messy." She said.

"Yes, of course." Trent chuckled. "By the way, my sister called a few minutes ago. She's getting married next month."

Gwen felt that the conversation was about to take a dangerous turn. She just smiled and tried to escape the subject in a casual, non-peculiar way.

"Really? So soon? I mean, she always seemed the freedom-loving type." Gwen said.

"You know, honey, marriage doesn't mean losing freedom. It's all about two people deciding to spend the rest of their lives together." Trent added. "And maybe it's time-"

"We should go inside." Gwen cut him off.

"Right…" Trent replied, trying not to show how bothered he actually was by her reaction.

* * *

><p><em>After the ceremony and after I was buried, everyone put away their handkerchiefs and went back to their normal suburban lives. Everyone except Katie, who couldn't get over my death so easily…<em>

Katie sat in her deceased best friend's living room, staring absently at the tiny basket from one of Sadie's shelves. She remembered that basket. It had been a welcome gift.

**Five years earlier**

Sadie sat on the front lawn of her new house and silently admired what was about to be her home. Her belongings had to arrive soon, so she decided to step into the house and look around. But before she could open the door, she heard a friendly and warm voice behind her.

"Hello!"

Sadie turned around and saw a young woman with black hair, dark eyes and a large smile. She was wearing a white cardigan and pink denim shorts and was holding a tiny basket.

"You must be the new neighbor. I'm Katie St Clair. I live right next door." She introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Katie! My name is Sadie Ross." Sadie said smiling. "I'd ask you to come in, but I don't have any furniture yet."

"That's okay. I wanted to offer you a little welcome gift." Katie added as she walked towards Sadie and gave her the basket. "They're strawberry muffins. I've made them myself."

"Thank you so much, Katie! I love strawberries. Would you like to come tomorrow morning for some coffee? By then my house will be ready for guests." Sadie giggled.

"That sounds great. I'll drop by tomorrow, then. See you around!" Katie waved and walked away, but then turned around as if she had remembered something. "Oh, and welcome to Wawanakwa Lane!"

"Thank you!" Sadie replied. She gazed at Katie who was walking to her house and then at the basket. She smiled, hoping that a friendship would soon bloom.

* * *

><p>Katie ran a hand through her hair and sighed. She lounged on her friend's couch and tried to think. What could have made Sadie kill herself? Suddenly, something caught her eye. Sadie's bookcase had a large drawer at the bottom. Out of it, the corner of a white sheet of paper could be seen. Katie rose and walked towards the drawer.<p>

She carefully pulled it and saw a huge stack of papers and documents in it. Curious to see what they were about, she took them one by one and read the headings. Most of them were from the bank, regarding money transfers. What intrigued Katie were the various documents about adoptions. But they were nothing, compared to a note she discovered, that made her gasp in horror.

"_Your dirty little secret is no longer hidden, Sadie Ross. But for the right price, your reputation might remain intact. You know who to call."_

Katie put the note down, suddenly feeling weak.

"Oh, Sadie…What did you do?"


	2. Making plans

**Chapter 2****-Makin' plans**

_Planning comes natural to everyone. Whether it's a spontaneous decision for the near future or a strategy for the next few years, everyone makes plans. But as many people already know, things don't always work out as planned. And so, a carefully __put-together plan can become useless in a matter of seconds._

"What do you mean we're not going to _Le Jardin_ tonight?" Heather snapped furiously. "But you promised me, damn it! We haven't had dinner in a fancy restaurant since you had that stupid business meeting last month."

She slammed her hairbrush on the dressing table and glared at her husband through the large oval mirror. Alejandro was sitting at the doorstep, patiently waiting for his wife to calm down.

"_Mi amor_, you know I am always looking forward to spending lovely evenings with you, but I have to stay up late tonight. Good deals don't close themselves, you know…" Alejandro tried to explain.

Heather stood up and turned to face him. Her anger didn't disappear.

"Admit it! You care more about that job than you care about me!" Heather huffed. "You're always staying too much at your office and you'd rather go to lunch with your business partners than spend a little time with me."

"You're overreacting."

"No, I'm not!" She yelled. Then, she turned around, straightened her purple cocktail dress, snatched her tiny black purse and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Alejandro asked.

"To Katie's house; at least _she_ will enjoy my company." Heather answered.

Alejandro sighed and massaged his forehead.

"_Mujer complicada."_ He muttered to himself.

* * *

><p><em>Katie liked to organize Poker Evenings. Even though she was against gambling, she felt that a friendly game never hurt anyone. So, every week, she would invite her friends over for a chance to relax and swap stories.<em>

Katie shuffled the cards as skillfully as a casino employee. The chips were placed into small towers and everyone was looking forward to some gossip.

"I heard Beth Waggoner's husband left her last week." Courtney casually began the conversation.

"I'm not surprised at all. I mean, there_ were _rumors that he was cheating on her." Bridgette added. "Poor Beth…"

"She deserves it." Heather said as she looked at her cards. "If she really wanted to keep her man, she would have put on makeup. Let's face it; we're not getting any younger or prettier."

"As shallow as it sounds, I agree." Katie added.

"But we'll always have our intelligence!" Courtney affirmed.

"Court's right. We are so much more than just pretty faces." Bridgette added.

"True. But we also have to have curves." Heather murmured, making Katie laugh. "Straight. I win!"

Courtney frowned and tossed her cards. Then, she heard the front door open.

"You left the door unlocked? Are you crazy?" she snapped. "That's how you turn your house and yourself into easy prey for burglars and perverts."

"Sorry, no perverts today. It's just me." Gwen said, as she entered the living room. She ruffled her hair a bit and then sat down at the round table. "Hey." She smiled.

"You're late." Heather remarked.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I had some issues. I'll enter this round, Katie." Gwen said, as she received her cards.

"Trent issues by any chance?" Bridgette cocked an eyebrow. Gwen nodded.

"Oh, it must be 'Argue with your significant other' Day." Heather muttered.

"What did Alejandro do?" Courtney asked curious.

"He's married to his job, not me." Heather huffed. "I raise. What did Trent do?"

"He started with the whole marriage thing…Again. It's like he suddenly feels that he's incomplete if he doesn't have a ring on his finger. Geez!" Gwen ranted. "He's acting like an old maid. I fold. Can we talk about something else, please?"

"Umm…Beth's husband left her." Bridgette tried to change the subject.

"See? Marriage is the number one cause for divorce!" Gwen affirmed. "You get married and the next thing you want to do is put a gun to your head!"

Everyone except Katie turned towards Gwen and stared. Realizing what she had just said, Gwen put her cards down and looked at Katie apologetically.

"I- I'm sorry, Katie, I didn't mean to say…"

"It's alright. I'm sure Sadie didn't kill herself because of marriage." Katie replied quietly. "Speaking of it, I've found something at her house a couple of days ago…"

The girls left their cards and turned their attention to the black-haired host, who took a deep breath, put her hands together as if she was preparing to say a prayer and placed them under her chin.

"After the funeral, I went to Sadie's house. I felt the need to sit there for a while, for the last time. Then I opened one of her drawers. And I found a note." She calmly reached for the piece of paper from her pocket. She placed it on the table. Her friends stretched their necks in order to read.

"Oh, my God!" Bridgette gasped.

"Who would write such a thing? That's clearly blackmail!" Courtney exclaimed shocked.

"Dirty secret? Sadie?" Gwen asked not believing her eyes.

"So, that's why she killed herself?" Heather murmured surprised.

Katie rose from the table and headed slowly towards the kitchen. Gwen and Bridgette exchanged glances, Heather crossed her arms and shook her head as if she still couldn't believe what was happening and Courtney examined the note one more time.

"It must have been a really dirty secret if she committed suicide after receiving this." Courtney said, biting her lip in thought.

Katie walked into the room holding a tray with five tea cups. She left the tray on the table and sat on her chair.

"Please help yourself to some tea. Ever since I found the note, it was the only thing that's helped me relax." Katie said motioning towards the tray. "Anyway, I wanted to show it to you. I don't want to call the police. It wouldn't help at all, I'm sure."

"Do you have any idea who it might have been?" Gwen asked concerned.

"No. I've always thought Sadie was one of the friendliest people around here. She sure didn't seem to have enemies. Or maybe she just kept her enemies hidden." Katie shrugged.

Katie took a sip from her tea and the girls each took a cup from the tray simultaneously, as if they were all involved in some kind of ritual.

"But I'm going to find out who sent the note. I'm going to find out who provoked my best friend's suicide." Katie said. And determination as well as thirst for revenge could be seen on her face.

* * *

><p>"Honey, I'm home!" Bridgette exclaimed, after closing the front door. She took off her shoes and placed her beige coat on the hanger.<p>

After leaving Katie's house at about eleven, she took a long walk in the park in order to clear her head. Now, all she wanted to do was spend some quality time with her husband. Bridgette went upstairs, trying to find Geoff. The Baxter residence was decorated according to a marine theme. The walls were painted in different shades of blue, the furniture was white and in every room there were objects that reminded of sailing, beaches and the sea. What guests always loved about Geoff and Bridgette's home was the vacation atmosphere it brought.

Bridgette slowly opened the bedroom door and peeked in. She was expecting to see Geoff researching through cook books, since he promised her a romantic dinner prepared by him. To her unpleasant surprise, Geoff was not surrounded by books. Instead, he was in bed sleeping.

"Geoff!" Bridgette shouted angrily. "What are you doing?"

Startled, Geoff jumped out of bed and tripping over his wife's slippers, he fell on the floor. "Wha-What happened?" he asked confused.

"I should ask you the same thing, mister! You were supposed to cook tonight, you promised!"

"Tonight? But, babe, I'm supposed to go out with the guys tonight. It's whiskey-shot night." Geoff said rubbing his eyes.

"First you tell me not to cook anything because you're going to organize a romantic dinner for us, then you ditch me for whiskey?" Bridgette asked clearly upset.

"When did I tell you not to cook?" Geoff laughed. "You're a great chef. I would go against nature asking you not to cook. Oh, I've got to go, babe. Don't wait up, okay?" He quickly kissed his wife on the cheek, grabbed his keys and headed downstairs.

Bridgette remained in the room with her mouth half opened in shock.

"What the hell happened just now?" she exclaimed in the empty room.

* * *

><p>After another brush stroke on the canvas, Gwen put her paintbrush in a glass of water and stepped back to admire her work. She smiled and gazed at her latest work of art, an abstract interpretation of melancholy, in blues and grays. As she checked to see if all the lines connected, she felt a warm breath on her neck, followed by a tender kiss.<p>

"Somebody's interrupting my work…" Gwen grinned.

"I know that you're done with it." Trent whispered into her ear.

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, then gently pressed her lips against his. The kiss was long and romantic, typical for couples that were living the first shivers of love. Gwen and Trent had been together for about two years, and yet they still had moments when they acted as if it was their first date.

When the kiss ended, Trent embraced his love and then looked at the painting. The colors were still fresh and the lines still had a watery shine.

"It looks great." Trent said. "Who is it for?"

"For an internet user named GothicVision20310. He or she wanted something deep and melancholic to hang on a bedroom wall. I have to admit, I accepted the order because of the username. It brings back memories." Gwen said as she smiled nostalgically. "Anyway, how was your day? Did the band cause any trouble?"

"No, they just want a new album. Something about youth, if I recall correctly." He replied.

"And luckily for them, they have one of the best songwriters on the job. Thank God you get paid for this." Gwen laughed.

"We're both lucky, dear. We make a living out of doing what we love." He said as he kissed her on the forehead. "I'll go take a shower."

"Okay." Gwen replied smiling. She turned to see her work one more time. It sure was a beautiful painting…

* * *

><p>Courtney dropped her head on her kitchen table. She would probably get bruises in the morning but she didn't care. After two trials and two meetings with possible clients, she was completely exhausted. And the worst of all: she had misplaced her agenda.<p>

Courtney just wanted to sit there with her face on the wooden surface, in the peace and quiet of her empty house. But when she heard knocks on her door, she knew that her plans had been canceled. She groaned and raised her head.

"I'm coming!" She shouted as she stood up and walked towards the door.

When she opened it, she saw Katie, who was smiling and looking as fresh as always, unlike Courtney who had large dark circles under her eyes. Before the lawyer could say anything, Katie held up a little black book. Courtney's eyes suddenly widened and she almost squealed with delight, as she grabbed the object from her friend's hands.

"My agenda! I thought I'd lost it!" Courtney said, hugging her agenda.

"I found it in my kitchen. You probably left it there this morning." Katie explained. "I dropped by to bring it."

"Oh, thank you, Katie! Don't stand there on the welcome mat, come in!" Courtney invited her. "Sorry for the mess, I just got home a few minutes ago. Do you mind if we stay in the kitchen? The living room is full of law-related paperwork."

"I don't mind. I like your kitchen." Katie said, as she took a seat on one of Courtney's kitchen stools.

Courtney's house was decorated in order to resemble her former apartment from Chicago. The furniture was black and white and had a modern touch. Everything was well-organized and even the apparently insignificant details had been carefully planned. The house lacked useless decorative objects such as old paintings or statues, because Courtney never found them a purpose. The only things which filled the walls were her diplomas, which were strategically placed in every room.

"Would you like something to drink?" Courtney asked. "I've got some divine coffee from Brazil."

"Thanks, Court, but I think it's a little late for coffee." Katie smiled apologetically.

Courtney looked at her watch and saw that it was almost eight in the evening.

"Right. I guess I lost track of time. Would you like some orange juice, then?"

"Sounds good." Katie replied. "Did you have a long day?"

"Ugh, I thought it would never end." Courtney groaned, as she took out a carton of orange juice from the fridge. "Things have been really hectic these past few weeks. It's like everyone wants to get to court."

The brunette poured the juice into a glass and placed it in front of Katie. Then, she sat down and gently stroked her forehead.

"Courtney, I'm sorry if my question is going to be too indiscrete, but…" Katie paused for a second, trying to decide how to put the question. "Are you happy?"

Courtney cocked an eyebrow. "Happy? Of course I'm happy! Why would you ask something like that?"

Katie gave her a serious look and replied: "You're always tired, you don't seem to have any _you_-time anymore…I'm starting to worry about you, I-"

"There's no need for that." Courtney cut her off calmly. "It's just a busier period, that's all. If you're suggesting that my job doesn't make me happy, then you can calm down. I _am _happy."

Katie lowered her head and gazed for a moment into her glass of orange juice. "I'm just worried that if I let things be the way they are, I might not prevent a potential disaster in my friends' lives. Maybe if I had paid more attention to what was happening in Sadie's life, she would still be alive today."

"Don't you dare blame yourself for her actions, do you hear me?" Courtney said a bit louder than she had intended. "You're a great person, Katie, a great person and an even greater friend. We can't imagine what was going on through Sadie's mind when she killed herself. Maybe she thought she had a good enough reason to do it, but we all know it wasn't. Because no matter how full of crap the entire world around you is, suicide is never a good solution, unless you plan to rot in hell for eternity."

Katie shivered a little, as the brunette said the last sentence. Noticing her reaction, Courtney gently placed her hand above Katie's.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said the part about rotting in hell." She murmured. "The bottom line is that you don't have to blame yourself for what happened. And you shouldn't worry about me, either. My work may be tiring, but it's what defines me. Just like art defines Gwen, rich defines Heather, friendship defines you and love defines Bridgette."

Katie smiled and chuckled lightly. "I bet a lot of women envy Bridgette for her relationship with Geoff."

"I wouldn't bet against you, then. They're surely the happiest couple on the block. And they've been together for ten years, engaged for seven and married for five. I'd say that's chick-flick material." Courtney chuckled. "But I'm really happy for Bridgette."

"I'm happy, too. But I wonder when I'll be as happy for you, Courtney." Katie added, before finishing her glass of orange juice.

"Let's not talk about that right now. We've had enough _me-_talk, how about you? How are holding on?"

"It's harder than I thought." Katie sighed. "I really miss Sadie, it's like I'm incomplete without her. I know we've recently buried her, but I feel like she's been gone for ages. I really miss her!"

Courtney understood the pain her friend was going through. Ever since the funeral, Katie only wore black and the death of Sadie cast a shadow of sorrow on her. In her every smile, there was a trace of misery.

"And my boss wants me to start showing her house next week to potential buyers!" Katie exclaimed, tears starting to run on her cheeks. "That man has absolutely no trace of humanity! I tried to explain that it was my best friend's house and that I won't feel comfortable selling it to someone else, but he says that it's part of my job. I need my job, Courtney, but I don't want to give what was part of Sadie to a stranger!"

The lawyer gazed at Katie, who was crying her heart out, and after a moment of deep thought, she made a suggestion.

"Take this weekend off."

"What?" Katie asked, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

"Tell your boss that you need two days off, to recover from your best friend's death. I'll do the same. We'll both have a free weekend in which we can go on a mini-vacation!" Courtney said.

"A mini-vacation?" Katie asked insecure. "Are you sure that you have time for this? You have all those lawsuits and divorces, custodies-"

"If you can make time, so can I." Courtney interrupted her. "Besides, it's the best way for you to clear your mind and the best way for me to relax. So what do you say?"

A smile spread across the dark-haired woman's face. "I say let's do it!" She exclaimed as she stood up.

The two happily squealed and hugged each other, just like teenage girls would. Katie cheerfully clapped her hands and Courtney went to the living room, from where she grabbed a stack of travelling brochures.

"I always get stuff like this in my mail." She explained, while spreading them on the kitchen table. Then, they both started browsing through them, looking for possible destinations for a weekend escape.

* * *

><p>When the clock struck nine in the evening, Heather groaned and flipped another page of the book she was reading. She was lounging on the couch in her bathrobe, reading a thriller she had found in her bookcase, mentally cursing her husband's schedule.<p>

When she was about to finish the third chapter, a string of pearls was lowered in front of the page. She gasped and touched the beautiful pearls that shimmered in the lamp light. When Heather tilted her head in order to see who was the one holding the string, he saw Alejandro's charming smile and his gorgeous lime green eyes gazing at her lovingly.

"What are these for?" Heather asked, as she rose from the couch.

"They're for my superb wife." Alejandro replied. "Allow me…"

He was holding the pearls in a characteristic way that invited Heather to turn around and hold her hair. She knew the gesture very well, so she allowed him to put the pearls around her neck.

"Are you trying to buy me? Because you know that some pearls won't make me forgive you for cancelling dinner." Heather added coldly.

"I'm not trying to buy you, _ermosa_. Pearls would go extremely well with your red dress that I love. And that's the dress I want you to wear tonight at _Le Jardin._" Alejandro murmured, as he kissed her gently on the neck.

Heather turned around surprised. "You mean you're not going to close that deal tonight?"

"I have something more important to attend to." Alejandro said as he caressed her cheek.

Heather smiled genuinely and kissed her husband passionately. After she broke the kiss, she rushed upstairs to get dressed, happy that everything worked out they way she wanted to in the end.

* * *

><p><em>Beth Waggoner was sitting on a chair on her front lawn, staring into space and stroking the fur of Winkles, my cat. After her death, Beth offered to take care of Winkles, this way preventing the feline from ending up in an animal shelter. Beth was a short and rather plain woman, with light brown hair always kept in a ponytail and rectangular-shaped glasses. She had been left by her husband Brady a week earlier. Rumors said that it was because of Beth's lack of sex-appeal, others claimed it was because she annoyed him.<em>

That evening, when it was already dark and the block was empty, she was just killing time with her feline companion, missing Brady and feeling lonely. At first, she didn't even notice the black car that pulled over near her. Only when the car door opened, she saw a silhouette in the street lamp light. It was a tall tanned man, with dark hair and blue eyes. He looked like a male model and Beth was immediately struck by his features, which she found stunning even in the poor light.

"Hi, is this Wawanakwa Lane?" He asked, revealing a perfect white smile.

"My name is Beth!" She instantly replied, not even hearing the question. She rose from her chair, causing Winkles to fall from her lap.

"I'm Justin Carlton. Could you tell me where I can find Sadie Ross?"

"Oh, she's dead. She killed herself. Nobody knows why." Beth began her gossip ritual. "It's actually-"

"Wait, what?" Justin cut her off. "She killed herself?"

"Yup, right in the living room."

Justin's smile faded. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He suddenly felt the need to sit down. Beth looked at him concerned and asked if he was okay.

"I'm fine…" He mumbled.

"Sorry you had to find out this way. Was she close to you?" Beth asked, sensing possible good gossip.

"No, not really..." Justin replied. "Listen, I need a place to stay for the night, do you know a motel or maybe-?"

"I have a spare room!" Beth exclaimed with a huge grin spread across her face. After being left by Brady, she saw the perfect opportunity of drowning her sorrow: hosting a very handsome man in her own house.

Justin weight his possibilities for a few seconds. He knew nothing about Beth. However, he dreaded spending nights in motels (when he was all by himself). So, he put on his charming smile and used his seductive tone.

"If you're sure that I won't be a burden…" He murmured, making Beth's knees week.

* * *

><p><em>Planning comes natural to everyone. Whether it's something that will affect the future of more than one person…<em>

Gwen opened the envelope she received in her mailbox. Inside, there was an invitation to Trent's sister's wedding. She looked at the beige rectangle, scoffed and then threw it on the coffee table.

_A romantic gesture…_

At _Le Jardin_, Alejandro and Heather raised their glasses of champagne preparing for a toast.

_Or a sudden getaway…_

Katie and Courtney flipped through the pages of travel magazines, giggling and imagining various scenarios.

_However, plans don't always work out the way they should. And you can find yourself not getting the desired result._

Bridgette ate her salad in the empty kitchen, gazing at the wall clock from time to a few bites she pushed the plate away and propped her head in her hand.

_But t__he only thing one can do when a plan is ruined, is improvise._

Beth brought Justin a tray of half-burnt muffins, grinning sheepishly. He looked up and forced a smile. He was reading an article about Sadie's death published a few days ago in the local newspaper.

"I hope you won't leave first thing in the morning." Beth added. "I really enjoy having company."

"This neighborhood seems very nice. I might stay here a few more days, if that doesn't bother you." Justin replied.

"Not at all! My guest room is always empty, anyway." Beth chuckled, clearly excited about having him stay a little longer at her house.


	3. I can help

**Previously on **_**Neighborhood Tales…**_

A suicide shocked everyone.

_"I don't understand why she did it." Bridgette buried her face in Geoff's chest. "Why would somebody commit suicide?"_

A promise was made.

"_I'm going to find out who provoked my best friend's suicide." Katie said._

And a stranger appeared on Wawanakwa Lane.

_"I'm Justin Carlton. Could you tell me where I can find Sadie Ross?"_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3-<strong>**I can help**

_In difficult moments, we all need a person who can __help us solve our problems. Whether it's an urgent issue or just a minor detail that must be taken care of, most of us can rely on the help of a benevolent person. _

"Yes, of course I'll check your mailbox this evening." Bridgette replied into her cell phone, simultaneously looking through her bills. "Yes. Okay, I understand. Courtney, trust me, I_ can _handle a few tasks." She chuckled, trying to reassure her best friend.

"You know, I find it very unfair that _some_ people go on a secret spa trip while others have to stay at home and carry on with their uninteresting lives. And no, that was not a mean comment."

"_It sure sounded like one_." Courtney huffed at the other end, ending the sentence with a chuckle.

"Relax, I'll take care of you and Katie's mail, gardens and so on. You just relax and have a good time, alright?" Bridgette asked, as she placed her phone between her cheek and her shoulder; she needed both her hands to open envelopes.

"_You're wonderful, Bridge! I don't say that as often as I should." _

"Have fun, okay? And send my love to Katie!" Bridgette added cheerfully, before ending the call.

Bridgette placed her phone on the kitchen table and continued to look through her mail. While she was reading a brochure from a local pharmacy, she heard the sound of Geoff coming downstairs. She was still a bit upset because of what had happened the night before, but she tried not to show it.

"'Morning, babe." Geoff greeted as he kissed his wife on the cheek.

"It's almost noon, Geoff. But heck, after all those shots, what does it matter if it's morning or noon?" Bridgette asked, more venomous than she had intended.

"You're upset." Geoff realized.

"Am I?" Bridgette snapped, slamming an envelope on the table. "I'm sorry, should I be happy because spending a night in a bar has become more fun than staying at home with me?"

"Bridge…"

"No, Geoff, let me finish. I'm upset, I am very upset. You _promised_."

Geoff calmly approached Bridgette and embraced her. Bridgette closed her eyes and tried not to break down.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "I should have stayed with you. I should have cooked dinner. I have absolutely no excuse for leaving you alone like that. Can I make it up to you by preparing lunch?"

Bridgette raised her head and saw Geoff's sincere smile. She smiled lightly and nodded. He kissed her tenderly on the lips and Bridgette knew that she would have no reason to be upset anymore.

* * *

><p>"I've just talked to Bridgette on the phone." Courtney said as she went on the balcony. Her hotel room had a beautiful view and the two enjoyed staying on the beach chairs on the balcony. "She sends her love." She stretched her arms and her white bathrobe opened, revealing her peach two-piece swimsuit.<p>

"That's nice." Katie said, as she sipped from her glass of green ice tea. She was wearing her favorite lavender swimsuit. "I'm sorry she couldn't come. It would have been a good experience for her." Katie added.

"Oh, this place is great!" Courtney said, as she longed on her beach chair. "I wish we could come here more often."

"Yeah, we've been here for about five hours and I already feel completely relaxed." Katie admitted.

Courtney was about to add something, but her cell phone started to vibrate. She looked at the caller id and answered.

"Hello?"

"_Courtney, you are not going to believe this! You know how you've always been complaining that you were only hired for divorces and custody battles? Well, I've got the perfect case for you! But-" _The voice at the other end spoke without any pause and with a voice filled with exhilaration.

"Breathe, Marsha, breathe." Courtney interrupted her. "What case are you talking about?"

"_You'll have the chance to defend a guy accused of aggravated assault._"

"That sounds like a challenge." Courtney smirked. "I'll arrange to meet the client in a couple of days."

"_Um, it doesn't work like that, Court. If you want this case, you've got to meet with the client _today_."_

"Today?" Courtney snapped, causing Katie to look at her worried. "But I'm not even at home. I arrived at this resort at 7 a.m. after a two-hour flight! I'm on a vacation, for God's sake!"

"_I'm sorry, Courtney. If you want this case, you have to meet your client today at 6 in the afternoon at _Rhinestone Café_."_

Courtney lowered her cell phone from her ear and sighed heavily. Katie rose from the beach chair and began folding the towel she had next to her.

"What time is our flight?" she asked calmly.

Courtney placed her head in her palms and felt like screaming.

"I can't do this to you! I was the one who convinced you to come here in the first place, so I can't ruin your mini-vacation." Courtney said upset. "I'll catch the flight. You stay here for the weekend."

"No, it's okay. I've had my share of peace and relaxation." Katie replied smiling.

Courtney hugged her friend tightly. And Katie hugged her back.

* * *

><p><em>Gwen Houston had lost <em>_many things throughout her life. She had lost her keys, one or two lovers and even her wallet. But while standing on a bench in the park with a sketchpad on her lap, she realized that she had lost another thing…her patience._

Gwen slammed the pencil on her sketchpad and sighed heavily, placing her head in her hands. She came to the park in order to get some inspiration and all she got was a major headache. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Gwen? Oh, my God, it's really you!" a voice exclaimed surprised.

Gwen tilted her head and opened her eyes. She saw a brunette man with blue eyes and a small gap between his teeth. He looked incredibly happy to see her.

_Gwen Houston had lost many things throughout her life. But her good memory was not one of them._

"Oh, my God! Cody Anderson!" Gwen exclaimed happily, as she stood up. "I haven't seen you since graduation!" She added, as she hugged him friendly. "Lookin' good, buddy. How are you?"

"I'm okay. But look at you! You look _great_!" Cody said full of admiration.

Gwen forced a smile, considering that she was wearing her old skinny jeans and a randomly-picked black T-shirt. She didn't look _that_ great in her opinion.

"Um, thanks. What have you been up to since we finished high school?" Gwen asked as she sat back on the bench.

"Not much: a job in IT, a few flings and recently an apartment in Fairbrook." Cody replied casually, while sitting next to Gwen on the bench.

"Fairbrook? So we'll be theoretical medium-distance neighbors." Gwen chuckled. "I live in Fairbrook, too. I have a house on Wawanakwa Lane."

"You're living like you've always wanted to: in an independent way, right?" He asked.

"Hmm, I guess so. Even though I'm not living by myself." Gwen shrugged.

"Roommate?"

"Boyfriend."

Cody remained silent for a few seconds. He lowered his head in thought.

"Oh…" He murmured.

"Yeah…" Gwen added as she looked at her watch. "Oh, shoot, if I don't hurry I'll be late again." She turned towards Cody. "It was nice seeing you today, Cody. Here, have my number." Gwen said as she handed him her card. "I'd love to chat about our high school memories someday."

"Yeah, that would be nice." Cody replied with a smile, his disappointment from earlier disappearing completely.

Gwen rose from the bench and put her sketchpad and pencil into her bag. Then, she leaned over to Cody and planted a light kiss on his left cheek. She then waved at him and rushed to catch a taxi.

Cody waved back, slowly caressing the cheek Gwen had kissed. Coming to the park that day was one of the best ideas he had had in weeks.

* * *

><p>As the taxi pulled over in front of her house, Courtney opened her door only to encounter a very familiar, yet disapproving face. She took off her sunglasses and shut the car door.<p>

"Here to welcome me?" Courtney asked with a smirk.

The tanned dark-haired man cocked an eyebrow at her. He was wearing a dark red polo shirt and jeans. He shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Congratulations, you are now officially a workaholic with no other interests." He told her on a casual tone.

"Oh, shut up, Noah." Courtney said, lightly slapping his shoulder as she passed by him.

The taxi driver opened the car trunk and took out the luggage. Courtney looked for her wallet in her purse and Noah walked next to her sighing.

"Since when do you care about my escapades?" Courtney asked as she pulled out a fifty-dollar bill and gave it to the driver.

"Normally, I don't give a damn, but I suddenly care a lot about the environment. I take pity on all those trees that died so you could write your reports and prepare your cases." Noah replied.

"Wow, it seems all those years we spent working together made you care." Courtney added before heading towards her house.

"Not a chance." Noah replied. "But aggravated assault? Seriously?"

"Hey, Noah!" Katie greeted cheerfully as she got out of the car.

Katie took her luggage and thanked the driver, who was ready to leave. She had her hair in pigtails and was wearing a white tank top and pink shorts. She seemed in a better shape than after the funeral.

"Hi, Katie! I see SuperLawyer ended your vacation early." Noah remarked.

"Katie already forgave me for that." Courtney shouted over her shoulder.

Katie smiled lightly and her gaze shifted down on her luggage.

"I don't blame Courtney." She murmured, and then she looked up. "And you shouldn't blame her either. It's her big chance. Try to be supportive."

Noah opened his mouth to say something, but Katie placed a finger on his lips and emphasized: "Supportive!"

Then, she waved and walked to her house. Noah waved back and headed towards Courtney's house. She was standing in front of the door, looking for her keys.

"You two are actually pretty cute." Courtney stated when Noah stopped next to her.

"So you're a matchmaker now?" Noah cocked an eyebrow.

"No. I know that you're just good friends and that you're already in a relationship. Can you hold this?" She asked, as she passed him her purse.

Noah sighed and waited for Courtney to open the door. When it opened, she grabbed her purse and entered. He followed her and shut the door behind him. While Courtney placed her luggage in the living room, Noah took a seat on a kitchen stool.

"I still don't think it's a good idea. I mean you're going to start working with murderers and robbers!" Noah said loud enough to be heard from the other room.

"Well, I think it _is_ a good idea!" Courtney replied. "I want to take a step forward in my career and this is the perfect opportunity to do that. I don't care about the obstacles that I'll face in my way. And I would appreciate it if you would stop telling me that I'm making a huge mistake."

"I tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!" Noah added.

Courtney entered the kitchen shaking her head. She chuckled and pulled two glasses out of the cupboard.

"You're unbelievable." Courtney muttered as she took a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator.

* * *

><p>Heather was jogging, like she always did when she wanted to clear her head. Passing by the houses of Wawanakwa Lane, listening to the music on her iPod, she just wanted to run. But then she heard something that not even the song from her earphones could conceal.<p>

"The catwalk queen is now living in the suburbs?" A male voice exclaimed.

Heather froze. She stopped running, but hesitated to look behind her. She had recognized the voice. It belonged to somebody who she hoped she would never see ever again.

"Justin Carlton." Heather whispered, as she turned around.

His blue eyes were analyzing her from head to toe. He flashed his charming smile and slowly walked towards her. Heather instinctively pulled the earphones out. Justin was wearing jeans and a light blue shirt, while Heather was wearing a magenta tank top and black yoga pants. She knew that she had lost ground in terms of glamour at that moment.

"Hello, Heather! I'm so happy to see you." Justin said on his nicest tone.

Heather didn't answer; instead she gave him an unfriendly look. Justin's smile slowly faded as he noticed the look.

"You don't seem too happy to see _me_." He said.

"You know I was always good at expressing my emotions." Heather replied. "Now what the hell are you doing here?"

"How hostile!" He pretended to be shocked. "We haven't seen each other for about six years and instead of a welcoming hug-"

"Oh, shut up!" She cut him off coldly. "A hug is the last thing I would give you, mister! I would wrap my arms around you only if I had a knife to stick into your back! Now get out of my way!" She snapped, as she walked right by him.

"Maybe next time you'll offer me a warmer welcome." Justin said with a chuckle.

"I don't want to see you again! I thought I made that clear six years ago!" Heather shouted behind her.

"I'm sure we'll meet again, Heather. After all, the neighborhood is _very_ small." Justin shouted back.

Heather closed her eyes and resumed her jog. She wanted to get as far away from Justin as she could.

* * *

><p>At 5:55 in the afternoon, the Rhinestone Café was surprisingly empty. Courtney was sitting at a table patiently scanning the menu. She was early, as usual. It was going to be an important moment for her and she didn't want to be late. Courtney was wearing a white top with a black blazer over it, a beige pencil skirt and black high-heeled sandals. She intended to look professional, yet fashionable.<p>

Minutes passed and soon it was already 6:15. Courtney was fuming. She kept staring at her watch and asking herself where her future client could be. Every time the café's door opened, she looked up filled with hope. She didn't know how the client looked like. All she knew was that the client was a _him_.

After fifteen more minutes, Courtney began thinking of leaving. Then, the café's door opened again. She had lost interest in looking up to see who was entering the Rhinestone. Instead, she was absently playing with a teaspoon. That's when the chair from her table was moved and a man sat down.

Courtney raised her head and saw a 30-year-old man with teal eyes and short dark hair in which a few green streaks could be spotted. He was wearing a pair of worn-out jeans and a black T-shirt with the word _Revolution_ written in white letters. Courtney cringed when he saw that he had his ears pierced.

"Excuse me! But who gave you permission to sit here?" Courtney asked on a hostile tone.

The man looked around, and then glanced at Courtney, cocking an eyebrow.

"I think you gave me permission when you accepted to meet me here, honey." He casually replied.

Courtney's eyes widened, while the man smirked.

"No, no, this can't be right." Courtney muttered, as she shook her head.

"You're my lawyer, aren't you?" He asked with a wide grin spread across his face, as he leaned in closer to her. "Connie Atkill or something like that."

"Courtney Atkins!" She snapped. "Oh, God, you're the guy accused of aggravated assault?" She asked fearing that the answer would be affirmative.

"Yeah, I'm the guy who was caught with a gun in his hand after another guy was shot." He replied. "The name's Duncan Evans. But you can call me whatever you like." He added on a flirty tone, causing Courtney to look at him appalled.

"Are you hitting on me?" She asked feeling almost insulted.

"You're not very observant, are you?" Duncan asked amused.

"That's it!" Courtney snapped, as she got ready to leave the table. "I will not have a client who is a pig!"

"Then I guess I'll just have to look for another lawyer." Duncan shrugged.

Courtney stopped and quickly analyzed her possibilities. As ambitious as she was, she couldn't miss her chance to get rid of boring cases, just because her client turned out to be unpleasant. She sighed heavily and sat down.

"Can't resist me, huh?" Duncan asked with a cocky smile.

"Listen here. I'm not accepting your case because of _you_. If you must know, I do _not_ find you attractive. On the contrary, I would never be interested in a guy like you. I don't want you, I want your _case_! So I suggest that you shut up and cooperate." Courtney explained trying to bring a little authority in her speech.

Duncan looked at her closely, then smiled amused.

"You're pretty bossy and annoying. But I _do_ need help avoiding prison." He said.

"In this case, I think I'm the one who can help you." She replied.

* * *

><p><em>In difficult moments, we all need a person who can solve our problems. Sometimes we get help from lovers…<em>

Bridgette was covered in flour, after her latest cooking accident. She was trying to get the white powder out of her hair, when Geoff handed her a wet towel. She looked at him, smiled and kissed him, leaving a bit of flour on his lips.

_From __future lawyers…_

Courtney sipped from her coffee, while Duncan told her about his upcoming trial.

_Or even from strangers, who will turn out to play a role in our future._

Katie heard a knock on her door, so she put on her pink bathrobe over her nightgown and went to see who it could be at such a late hour. When she opened the door, her first impression of the man standing in front of her was that he was a _very_ handsome man.

"Katie St Clair?" He asked on a friendly tone.

"Yes, that's me." Katie replied, trying to smile.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I know it's not a convenient hour to come by, but I wanted to see you as soon as possible." He said. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Justin Carlton." He added extending his hand. "And I would like to buy a house here, on Wawanakwa Lane."

Katie glanced at him from head to toe, then she extended her own hand smiling.

"Then you've found the right person to help you." She grinned.

* * *

><p><strong>Three chapters and the <strong>**suspense already starts building up? Well, fear not, dear readers, I plan to write a lot of chapters for this story. The author's notes won't be many, so as not to spoil the story.**

**For those who haven't ****watched Desperate Housewives, don't worry. You don't need to be familiar with the show in order to follow this story's plot. **

**I hope you enjoy reading this story, because I certainly enjoy writing it. There will be twists and turns, new pairings and surprise appearances.**** So, stay tuned for the next chapters! For any questions or comments, feel free to review or PM me. Lots of hugs!**

**P.S: Here's a (hopefully) interesting fact about the story. Every chapter name is a song title. So, if you like listening to music while reading, feel free to 'youtube' the chapter names.**

**See you soon,**** dear readers!**

**-PurpleFunkytown**


	4. Breaking News

**Previously on _Neighborhood Tales…_**

Gwen saw an old friend.

_"Oh, my God! Cody Anderson!" Gwen exclaimed happily, as she stood up. "I haven't seen you since graduation!" She added, as she hugged him friendly._

Heather encountered someone from her past.

_"I don't want to see you again! I thought I made that clear six years ago!" Heather shouted behind her._

Courtney accepted a challenge.

_"The name's Duncan Evans. But you can call me whatever you like." He added on a flirty tone._

_"Are you hitting on me?" Courtney asked feeling almost insulted._

And Katie did her job.

_I would like to buy a house here, on Wawanakwa Lane." Justin added._

_"Then you've found the right person to help you." Katie grinned._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4-Breaking news<strong>

_Everyone wants to hear the latest news. That is why we buy newspapers, watch TV news bulletins or even listen to traffic reports in our cars. We want to hear the news because we're curious what has been happening lately. But we don't always like what we discover._

Katie almost spat coffee all over her laptop. She was reading a blog that her co-workers had praised a few times and was shocked by a certain article.

"_The Secret of a Suicide-Who? Where? Why?_

_Not long ago, in the small and otherwise peaceful neighborhood of Wawanakwa Lane, Fairbrook, a suicide startled everyone. Although suicides aren't _that_ surprising, this one is particularly interesting because of its unknown motives._

_Sadie Ross, a clerk at a cosmetics shop, killed herself on a Tuesday afternoon in her own house, with a gun she owned. Nobody, not even her close friends, could say _what_ made her kill herself._

_That's where you come in! Please vote on the poll displayed next to this article and tell us why you think Sadie Ross committed suicide."_

Katie looked at the poll choices and felt sick to her stomach. The poll had all sorts of choices, from 'loneliness', 'depression', 'low salary', to 'ran out of groceries'.

"This is outrageous!" Katie shouted in the empty house.

She quickly scrolled down the page to look for the contact details of the blogger. This couldn't go unpunished.

* * *

><p>"I'm so happy you had time to drop by." Bridgette said with a wide smile on her face, as she placed a tray of muffins on the living room coffee table.<p>

She was wearing a blue sleeveless shirt, a white maxi skirt and a little white apron over it. Bridgette sat on the couch, looking cheerful and carefree. Noah, on the other hand, seemed incredibly skeptical about the whole situation. He glanced at the muffins, then at Bridgette and finally, he spoke.

"Bridgette, what the hell is happening?" Noah asked seriously.

"What do you mean-?"

"You never invite me over just for a friendly chat. And for God's sake, take off that ridiculous apron! Everyone knows you can't bake and I'm a hundred percent sure those muffins were bought from the store this morning." Noah added, gesturing towards the tray.

Bridgette sighed heavily and threw her apron on the floor.

"Okay, okay…I invited you over because I need your help." She said, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "I need somebody to talk to."

"Are all your female friends unavailable?" Noah cocked an eyebrow.

"No, but I don't feel like talking to them about this subject. You see…" She took a deep breath and the rest of the sentence came out quicker than a cold autumn wind. "I-think-I-have-marriage-problems."

Bridgette had involuntarily closed her eyes as she told Noah her problem, so when she opened them she was very surprised to see that he didn't react in any way.

"_This_ is the major subject you don't want to talk to your friends about?" Noah scoffed. "Great, here's another reason why I'll never understand women."

"You don't understand." Bridgette complained. "I know what other women are saying behind my back. All of them talk about how perfect my marriage is, how lucky I am to have a husband like Geoff, how we never argue and so on. Admitting that I don't have a fairytale-like relationship would knock me down from 'lucky to have a perfect marriage' to 'sad, unhappy mediocre wife'." She explained.

Noah rolled his eyes and took a bite out of a muffin.

"Marital issues are _much_ more common than you think. Trust me. My girlfriend is always working ten hours straight because of all the people who need help reviving their relationships." Noah added.

"Wait…your girlfriend is-?"

"A marriage counselor." Noah replied, wiping powdered sugar off his hand with a pale blue napkin. "She initially worked in a psychiatric institute, but she was sued after a minor incident and had to find another job."

Bridgette bit her lip in thought and analyzed the information.

"And whatever is said to a marriage counselor is strictly confidential?" Bridgette asked.

"Consider her a priest with a degree in Psychology." Noah replied.

"I see." Bridgette said smiling. " More muffins?" She asked, lifting the tray under Noah's nose.

* * *

><p>Gwen lightly opened Katie's front door and peeked inside.<p>

"Katie? Are you home?" she asked, before entering the house.

Gwen took off her shoes and went into the living room. She saw Katie's laptop on the coffee table, but Katie wasn't there.

"Katie?" Gwen shouted, hoping for an answer.

"Gwen!" Katie's voice suddenly came from behind her. Gwen jumped and let out a small shriek.

"Katie, what the hell? You startled me!" Gwen said with a hand on her chest, trying to calm down.

"Sorry." Katie apologized. "It's just that I'm so happy you're here. I needed some moral support." She said, while heading towards her laptop.

"Moral support for what?" Gwen asked confused.

"I found a _poll_ on some blog about Sadie's motives to commit suicide!" Katie explained, still angry with the blog writer. "Here, read this." She added, while turning the laptop in Gwen's direction.

Gwen got closer to the laptop and scanned the article. Her expression quickly became one of disapproval and even disgust.

"This is low, even for the internet. Who _is_ this awful person? I mean, who would blog about someone's suicide? It's just not normal." Gwen affirmed.

"I plan to find out. I have the address right here." Katie said, raising a small piece of paper with a few lines written on it. "She lives in Fairbrook."

"No surprise there. She's a local, that's how she knows about Sadie's suicide." Gwen replied. "And what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to pay her a visit." Katie answered, as she grabbed her car keys. "Care to join me?"

"Why not?" Gwen shrugged. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

* * *

><p><em>Alejandro Burromuerto knew how to close a good deal. When he was 25, he entered the business world and after only a year, he made enough connections to secure his financial future. When he was 28, he saw Heather walking confidently down the catwalk during a fashion show in Milan. After that, he played his cards right and at the age of 29, he asked her to marry him. And his ability to close good deals didn't disappear at all as the years went by.<em>

"Guess who the most brilliant business man on the planet is!" Alejandro happily exclaimed as he entered the bedroom with a bottle of champagne in his hand.

Heather was busy gazing in the mirror of her enormous closet, checking out her outfit for an upcoming charity event. She was wearing a long strapless emerald green dress that hugged her curves beautifully.

"Come on, _mi reina_, guess!" Alejandro insisted.

"You are, as always." Heather replied absently, running her delicate hand across the smooth fabric.

Alejandro approached her and began kissing her neck. Heather noticed the bottle of champagne.

"What are we celebrating?" She asked.

"I have a new business partner." Alejandro replied, placing the bottle on the floor and then embracing his wife. "And he's a big name in the business world. We're going to start collaborating as of tomorrow."

"Congratulations." Heather said wrapping her arms around his neck. "Does this mean we're going to have even more money?"

"More, more and more." Alejandro chuckled as he pressed his lips against Heather's.

She enjoyed the passionate kiss, considering that they had so little time for signs of affections since Alejandro was almost always away from home. Heather got used to it, eventually. She compensated her husband's absence with luxury. And, of course, there were her friends, always there for her, even when Alejandro wasn't.

He broke off the kiss and Heather couldn't help feeling disappointed. He caressed her cheek and she forced a smile.

"I have to go solve a few more things about the partnership, my love." Alejandro told her.

"Oh…" Heather whispered. "When will you be back?"

"Probably around dinner time." Alejandro replied while grabbing his jacket.

Heather didn't reply. Instead, she walked him all the way to the door, where he kissed her once more before leaving. When she remained all alone in her huge house, she felt empty inside.

While lowering her head, she realized she was still wearing her green dress. Heather sighed and with a single motion, she took off her dress and threw it on the floor. She had a hunch she wouldn't be going to that charity event after all…

Heather remained only in her black lingerie, cursing the fact that she always managed to be alone at some point _every_ _single day_. Although she felt incredibly comfortable wearing only lingerie, this time she wasn't in the mood for strutting around the house looking incredibly sexy. So she walked into the downstairs bathroom and grabbed a short black silky bathrobe.

Then, she went up the stairs, thinking of reading the new thriller novel that Bridgette kept talking about a few days ago. But when Heather placed her foot on the fifth step, she heard the front door open lightly. Happily thinking it was Alejandro who had just decided to cancel any meetings, she turned around with a wide smile on her face.

But her smile froze when she saw Justin, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and with a smirk on his face.

"Knock, knock." He said grinning.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" Heather furiously asked.

Justin didn't answer; instead he scanned Heather from head to toe and smiled approvingly.

"You look as breath-taking as ever, Heather." He murmured.

Heather quickly closed her bathrobe and rushed down the stairs, while Justin walked into the house, shutting the door behind him. Heather was fuming. She stopped right in front of him, preparing to say a few not-so-nice things to him. However, he completely caught her off-guard by caressing her cheek and gazing lovingly at her.

"You actually gave up the catwalk for a mediocre small town life? I expected more from you, Heather." Justin said slightly disappointed.

Annoyed by his comment, Heather raised her hand to slap him, but he managed to catch her wrist before she had the chance to hit him.

"Life with Latin boy sure made you spicy." He commented with a smirk.

"Let me go and get the hell out of here!" Heather almost shouted.

"Why are you so venomous? You used to love being in my presence. Haven't you missed me at all?"

"No!" Heather spat full of hate. "I told you six years ago and I'm going to tell you again. You've screwed up everything and messed with the wrong girl. Ever since then, I've hated you with every fiber of my being."

"What I did six years ago was a mistake, but I needed the money." Justin defended himself.

"And what about me?" Heather angrily asked. She felt all the fury she had accumulated six years earlier returning. "You practically sold me!"

"I didn't have alternatives." He calmly replied.

"You _always_ had alternatives. You just chose the one that was the most favorable to you." She added before opening the front door. "And I honestly wish you hadn't done that. Now get out and never come into my house ever again."

Justin simply looked at her and started laughing. Heather glared at him, not understanding why he would laugh at a time like this.

"You're the same Heather that kicked me out six years ago. I can see it in your eyes, in you gestures and even in the curving of your lips." He said. "And this makes me wonder…Haven't your feelings, by any chance, remained the same as six years ago?" He came closer to her, his face being only inches apart from hers. "Are you happy with your life, Heather? Or would you change it in a heartbeat if you had the opportunity?"

Heather didn't speak. Instead she gazed into his deep blue eyes and felt an unusual feeling of inner peace; as if his eyes were reflections of the ocean itself. And then, she did the unthinkable: she allowed Justin to kiss her.

She knew it was a kiss meant to awaken the past, a mere trick of Justin's. However, she didn't fight back. And for a few seconds, she relived moments from her youth, moments which she had hidden in a dark corner of her mind. When it ended, she remained silent for a moment, and then gathered all her force in order to push Justin over the threshold and slam the door.

Slightly panting, she leaned on her front door and buried her face in her hands.

* * *

><p>The skinny redheaded waitress quickly scribbled on her tiny notepad, while Courtney pulled a stack of files out of her oversized black bag. Duncan raised an eyebrow as he saw the large amount of paperwork.<p>

"A chocolate cappuccino and a beer, right?" The waitress checked.

"Exactly, and please don't make us wait too long." Courtney said, not even bothering to look up.

The redhead nodded and walked away. The diner was rather empty that afternoon, so Courtney was pleased that she could discuss with her client in peace. She was wearing a lavender shirt with a grey pencil skirt, while Duncan had a more casual attire: a dark green T-shirt and jeans.

"I checked your file last night and there are a few things I'm a bit confused about." Courtney told him, as she started looking through the sheets.

"You _checked my file_ last night? Don't you have a personal life?" Duncan questioned, causing Courtney to raise her head and glare at him.

"Excuse me?" She asked irritated. "You should be grateful that I've sacrificed my _own_ free time in order to help you keep your sorry butt out of jail!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down! I'm sorry you missed the chance to get laid so you could help me prove my innocence." Duncan said rolling his eyes.

"You pig!" Courtney said, hitting him over the shoulder with a stack of papers.

"You're feisty for a lawyer, I like it." Duncan said on a suggestive tone.

"Make one more attempt to hit on me and I'll make sure you end up raped in prison." Courtney threatened.

Duncan's grin quickly disappeared and Courtney smiled satisfied. In that exact moment, the waitress came with their drinks. After politely thanking her, Courtney took a sip from her cappuccino.

"As I was saying, I've checked your file and I discovered something odd. I mean, it must be a mistake, but such a thing written in your file could really affect your future." Courtney explained.

"What is it?" Duncan asked not-too-interested.

"It says here that you've been in prison before." Courtney replied, pointing to a line on a sheet of paper. "Which clearly isn't true." She smiled nervously, expecting a reaction from her client.

But Duncan didn't say anything. He had no expression on his face and reacted in no way. Instead, he lifted his glass of beer and calmly drank half of it. Courtney studied him carefully and then it hit her.

"Oh, my God!" She exclaimed, slamming both her palms on the table. She then realized that she was being too loud and whispered nervously: "You _have_ been in prison before!"

"No use denying it." Duncan shrugged.

"That's not what I've signed up for!" Courtney panicked. "You were supposed to be innocent!"

"I _am_ innocent!" Duncan replied, but then he paused for a second. "This time."

Courtney buried her face in her hands and kept muttering _Oh God_. Duncan rolled his eyes and waited for her to calm down.

"Why were you in prison?" Courtney asked weakly.

"I helped a guy rob a jewelry store. It was a tough period for me and I really needed the money."

"So you didn't kill or rape anybody?"

"I'm not _that_ type of bad guy. I could never bring myself to hurt another person without any reason. And as for the rape part…I never force, I just convince." He said with a smirk.

"Ugh." Courtney voiced with disgust.

She was in a terrible dilemma. She wanted to take a step forward in her career and handle more complicated and important cases; that's why she accepted to defend Duncan. But he was supposed to have a clean record and he didn't. Did it make a difference? Courtney's mind responded affirmatively, but her heart objected. There was something about his wonderful blue eyes and his cocky smile that made Courtney sure he wasn't a bad guy.

"No! Lawyers don't think with their heart!" Courtney muttered annoyed, silent enough for Duncan not to understand. "Why should I continue to be your lawyer?" she added on a cold tone.

Duncan just smiled and crossed his arms.

"If you didn't want to be my lawyer anymore, you would have already walked out of this diner." He said.

Courtney blinked a few times and shouted "God damn it!" loud enough for the whole diner to hear. When everyone turned to stare, Duncan started laughing and she quickly tried to cover her flushed face with a sheet of paper.

* * *

><p>"Is this it?" Gwen asked, after she and Katie stopped in front of a large block of flats from Fairbrook.<p>

"Yes, this is it. Come on!" Katie said, as she walked towards the entrance.

Gwen shrugged and followed here. They went up the stairs, until they reached apartment number 14. Then, Katie took a deep breath and knocked. After a few seconds, she heard a cheerful voice exclaiming "Coooming!". The two friends exchanged glances.

The door was opened by a young woman about their age, with shoulder-length wavy violet hair and big eyes. She was very tanned and was wearing jeans and a light yellow tank top.

"Hello! How can I help you?" She asked lightheartedly.

"Hi, are you the one who writes on this blog?" Katie asked, showing her a piece of paper on which the title of the blog was written.

"Oh, this old thing!" She giggled. "Well, I _did_ write on it. But that was like a million years ago, before I got my dream job as a reporter. After that, I passed on the blog to a friend of mine, who was _so_ excited to enter the blogging world and-"

"Excuse me for interrupting…" Gwen cut her off politely. She was starting to get a headache because of this overly-talkative girl. "So you aren't the one who wrote a nasty blog post about a friend of ours who committed suicide?"

"OMG, no! I would never do that. Why? Did Starla write such a thing? Because I told her not to abuse of the blog. Even though it's not mine anymore, I still feel I have some kind of reputation to respect. It sounds super crazy, I know, but you can take a blogger off a blog, but you can never take a blog out of a blogger. You know what I mean? Anyway, I'll have a talk with Starla and I'll make sure she deletes the post you were talking about."

She was talking very fast and Katie and Gwen sometimes felt the need to exchange looks of confusion, surprise or even 'this girl is a bit crazy' ones.

"By the way, my name is Sierra Parker." She added, extending her hand.

"Pleased to meet you; I'm Katie St Clair and this is Gwen Houston." Katie replied, as she shook hands with her. "Thank you for your cooperation, Sierra."

"Oh, don't mention it. Would you like some coffee, tea, cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or cheesecake?" Sierra asked, her hospitality almost bursting out.

"Not for me, thanks." Gwen said a bit apologetically. "I have to meet my boyfriend for lunch. But thank you for your help."

"I have to go, too. But thank you once again! That blog post was really hurtful and I'm glad you'll make sure it will be deleted." Katie said, flashing a genuine smile and hugging Sierra.

Sierra really appreciated the gesture, and with a large grin, she walked her two new friends to the door. But just as she opened the door and the two were walking out, Sierra saw a very familiar face preparing to go down the stairs.

"Cody!" Sierra exclaimed happily.

But her messy brown-haired neighbor didn't even look at her. As he raised his head, his attention was immediately caught by Gwen's presence. And it was impossible for Sierra not to notice the way he stared at her and the way a big dumb-looking grin formed on his face. A huge red exclamation mark popped into her brain.

"Hey, Cody! I didn't expect to find _you_ here." Gwen said on a friendly tone.

"Hi! Uh, yeah, I own an apartment on the upper floor. How about you? What's up with you in this part of town?" Cody asked, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Long story." Gwen chuckled. "We've just met your lovely neighbor Sierra, who has been very kind and helpful."

Cody glanced at Sierra, smiled briefly and then turned his whole attention to Gwen again. Needless to say, Sierra was already fuming.

"By the way, I'd like you to meet my friend and neighbor Katie. Katie, this is Cody. He and I have been buddies since high school, back when he was a geek and I was the weird Goth girl." Gwen added with a laugh. "Oh, I feel so old…"

Sierra tried to stay calm and force a smile, but the urge to hit her potential rival in love with the door was quite overwhelming. After Katie and Cody shook hands and exchanged some polite words, the three said their goodbyes to Sierra and went down the stairs. The purple-haired reporter waved and then involuntarily slammed the apartment door.

* * *

><p><em>Everyone wants to hear the latest news, because most of us are curious about what has been happening in the world lately. Sometimes, we hear good news…<em>

Geoff is cheered on the living room sofa, as his favorite baseball team won the game. In the meantime, Bridgette was putting her cell phone back in her pocket, after arranging a counseling session for her.

_But sometimes, we receive bad news._

Heather was jogging around the neighborhood, when suddenly she saw Justin standing in front of a house, reading the newspaper. The house had a _SOLD_ sign over the old _FOR SALE_ one. The shock almost paralyzed her, but she didn't stop. Luckily for her, Justin didn't even raise his head to see her.

_However, there are those times when we discover things that somehow turn our world upside down. And then, we wish we _hadn't_ heard the news._

Sierra was browsing on the internet, looking through an old yearbook posted on a social network. As she stumbled upon a particular picture, she gasped. The picture showed Gwen and Cody in their senior year, with Gwen holding her arm around his shoulders and Cody looking incredibly happy. She then threw her wireless mouse across the room and shouted "NO!" loud enough for all her neighbors to hear.


	5. The Model

**Chapter 5-The Model**

_Heather Song grew up with a huge love for books. Always teased by her classmates because she was chubby, she would find comfort in reading. It was only until she entered high school, when she encountered some changes. Although her love for literature and dream of becoming a librarian never disappeared, she turned from chubby to stunning. That is why, in her senior year, she was offered a scholarship from a world-famous modeling academy. And so, Heather Song abandoned her dream of working as a librarian and embraced the runway. _

* * *

><p><em><strong>Seven years earlier…<strong>_

"I've read the news, darling, and guess what? You're already a hit. In a few more years you're going to be even bigger than Monroe!" The woman said, squishing the remains of her cigarette into the crystal ashtray.

A 24 year-old Heather was absently playing with her empty cup. Her raven hair was hanging loosely over her bare shoulders, and her gray eyes possessed a unique charm, even if she wasn't trying to impress anyone at the moment.

"Yes, Edith, anything you say…" Heather muttered bored.

Edith was Heather's agent. She was a short woman in her mid 50s, with short dark hair and big owl-like eyes hid behind glasses with a thick round frame. She was often bossy, but was one of the best when it came to knowing the secrets of succeeding in the modeling world. She had been working with Heather for only three years, but she already managed to help her appear on numerous magazine covers and send her to worldwide fashion shows. There was only one flaw of Edith's that Heather never managed to accept: the fact that the woman smoked like crazy.

"Heather, please pay some damn attention to me." Edith said, with another cigarette between her lips. "Eyes up!"

Heather raised her head a bit. A strand of raven hair fell over her cheek.

"Now listen here, darling. You're getting closer and closer to becoming the celebrity you always wanted to be. All you have to do is pay close attention to very little word I say." Edith calmly spoke. "Have I ever given you any useless or negative advice?"

"No." Heather replied.

"That's right." Edith stated proudly, tucking Heather's rebellious strand behind her ear. "In exactly five minutes, you'll meet your future collaborator, right here in this café. I heard he's quite a piece of eye candy. But, still…" Edith paused and tapped her chin in thought.

With a quick motion, Edith grabbed the upper part of Heather's dress and pulled it downwards a few millimeters.

"Hey!" Heather hissed annoyed. "What the hell, Edith?"

Heather was wearing a red spaghetti strap dress that already looked sultry. With Edith's intervention, the dress became truly inviting, as it revealed a bit more cleavage than Heather intended.

"Don't make a scandal, kid." Edith scolded her. "I'm just making sure you catch this guy's eye. He's a model, too, so a long lasting collaboration between you two would bring nothing but good news. Now, how are you going to convince him?"

Heather sighed, then discretely batted her eyelashes, slightly opened her red lips and offered her most seductive glance.

"I'm sure we will get along perfectly. How about we discuss this matter further at dinner?" Heather practically purred, earning a clap from Edith, who seemed very proud.

"That's my girl!" She happily exclaimed. "I've got to go now, but don't forget to call me to let me know how it all went. Good luck, darling!"

"Thanks." Heather said, as she pulled out a compact mirror out of her purse.

She disliked manipulation, even if she was sometimes obligated by circumstances to use it. A bit of the little chubby literature-loving girl still remained somewhere inside Heather; and the girl disapproved of all bad natured actions.

Heather applied a layer of red lipstick on her lovely lips. Edith had picked her up as a nobody and made her a somebody in the modeling world. Sure, her words of advice were sometimes a bit unorthodox, but the woman was right: she had never given her any negative or useless advice. In the long run, manipulation was good. That was what Heather kept telling herself in order to avoid guilt. And manipulating men…Well, that was another story.

"Men _like_ being manipulated." Heather whispered to her own reflection.

And just as she closed her compact mirror, she saw a tall well-built young man approaching her table. He was tanned, had short messy-chic dark hair and baby blue eyes so beautiful they caused Heather to forget how to breathe for a moment. He was wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt and jeans. When he gazed at Heather, he flashed a perfect white smile and stopped right in front of her.

"Heather Song?" He asked with a voice so melodious, she nearly melted.

Heather quickly snapped out of it. She was here to make _him_ fall for her, not vice versa. She put on a charming smile and extended her perfectly manicured hand.

"The one and only." She replied. "And you are?"

He smiled and planted a light kiss on her delicate hand.

"Justin Carlton." He said, clearly aware of the effect he was having on Heather. It took every ounce of her self-control not to blush.

"Umm, please take a seat!" She calmly invited him. "I believe we'll be working together soon."

"I've been told. But my manager forgot to mention how charming you are, Heather." Justin said smiling.

"I appreciate the compliment." Heather said on a diplomatic tone. She refused to swoon over the guy, no matter how handsome he was. As Edith always told her: Business comes first. "Unfortunately for me, I haven't had the chance to view your work."

"Oh, I always get the same comment after every shoot. Everyone says _Perfect!_" Justin said sounding incredibly bored. "I'm sure you would share the general opinion."

"I might." Heather replied, while looking through the menu. "Oh, I hope they have the cocktail I-"

"That sure is a stunning dress." Justin interrupted.

Heather cocked an eyebrow behind the menu. It was all clear to her now: Justin wasn't in the mood for discussing business. But it didn't matter; she was flexible enough to adapt. So, she took a silent deep breath and lowered the menu.

"Why, thank you." She said while putting on a seductive smile.

"It makes your eyes look even more fascinating."

"You sure have a way with words…" Heather murmured, while running her hand in her smooth raven hair.

Half an hour and a bottle of wine later, you could have sworn that they were good old friends.

The alarm. No, the _cell phone_. Heather moved her hand on the nightstand, trying to find the damn thing without opening her eyes. When she finally grabbed it, she answered without even checking the caller ID.

"Hello?" She muttered sleepily.

"_Heather, for your own good you'd better be on a spaceship right now, victim of alien experiments!" Came Edith's angry tone._

"Edith?"

"_Why didn't you call me last night? I was worried sick!" _

Heather massaged her forehead with her available hand and slowly opened her eyes yawning.

"Sorry." Heather said between yawns.

"_How did everything go? Did you convince him to become partners?_"

Heather glanced at the person she was sharing the double bed with. Justin, in his entire nude splendor, was still heavily sleeping.

"Yeah, we got along just fine." Heather chuckled.

After exchanging a few more words with her manager, Heather noticed that Justin was waking up, so she promised Edith that she would call her later that day.

"Mmm…What a night!" Justin mumbled sleepily.

"Good morning to you, too." Heather friendly replied, before getting up and heading to the bathroom.

"Love the view, darling!" Justin exclaimed as he was watching Heather leaving the room naked.

"You'd better put some pants on, too, loverboy." Heather shouted from the bathroom.

Justin laughed and did as told. But before he could put on his shirt as well, he noticed a philosophy book on the nightstand from Heather's side of the bed. He picked it up and even turned a few pages. When Heather reentered the room dressed in a violet summer dress, he looked at her, smiled and raised the book.

"Not the type of book I would expect to find in a model's apartment." He added.

"I know most models are complete airheads, but I certainly don't fit into that category." Heather replied, while picking up a hairbrush.

"You're not like all those other girls." Justin said approaching her. "You're _different._" He said, while caressing her cheek.

"I prefer _unique._" Heather smirked.

Justin took the hairbrush from her hand and whispered into her ear: "May I?"

"As long as it won't hurt." Heather said.

"I'll be gentle." Justin said smiling.

So they both sat on the bed, Justin running the brush smoothly through Heather's silky hair. Heather felt that the whole process somehow had an intimate side to it. However, she really enjoyed it. And she had a hunch that Justin enjoyed it as well.

"Do you do this with most girls?" Heather asked.

"Do what?" Justin absently questioned.

"Have a one night stand then brush the girl's hair."

"No, I don't usually brush many girls' hair." Justin admitted. "As for the one-night stands…I'm not usually the one who's lured into them. How about you? Do you play the part of the predator often?"

"Let's just say I never allow myself to become a prey. But I'm not a slut. I don't attract guys into my bed just because I don't have any plans for the evening." Heather replied.

"Then why did you get _me_ into bed?"

Heather froze. It was a trick question. She couldn't possibly tell him that she did it because her manager told her or worse, because she actually felt attracted to him. So she didn't answer. Instead, she turned around and smirked.

"Why? Do I wish that I hadn't?" She asked while graciously moving her finger across Justin's lips.

"To tell you the truth, I won't mind if you'll do it again." Justin replied grinning.

And then he kissed her passionately. And she didn't mind at all.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

Heather woke up from a bad dream. She was panting and felt that she was covered in sweat.

"It was just a nightmare_…" _She muttered.

Heather looked at her husband sleeping beside her and felt calmer. It had been just a bad dream. A bad dream in which she cheated on her loving spouse. She cheated with _him_. Even though it was nothing but her subconscious playing tricks on her, Heather felt guilty. She gently caressed Alejandro's cheek. As a response, he smiled in his sleep. Heather smiled as well.

She didn't do anything. She didn't cheat on her husband. It was just a stupid dream. But was it? Heather thought it was all too familiar…What if it wasn't a dream, but a memory of the time when she and Justin were together?

She shook her head as if she wanted to get the thought out of her head. There was no use thinking about it. It was over. Everything ended after only a year.

She placed her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. She had no more dreams until morning.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Six years earlier…<strong>_

Heather had finally done it. She had agreed to share part of her life with someone. Someone who she initially only planned to seduce for professional reasons: Justin. After their one-night stand, they agreed to keep seeing each other, and after a while, they even started a relationship.

Whether they got lost in long past-revealing conversations or even in intense intimate moments, they enjoyed each other's company and even lived what Heather never thought she would experience: a love story.

On a cold January morning, Justin agreed to move into Heather's apartment. And it was all harmony. They both had separate projects to complete, but after every tiring photo session they would return home and cuddle on the sofa while watching an old movie or listening to love songs. It was something that kept Heather happy; knowing that she wasn't lonely anymore and that she had someone to rely on.

"So you really wanted to become a librarian when you were little?" Justin asked one night, while they were getting ready for bed. "I've got to say, it's a bit shocking." He laughed.

"Oh, shut up. I'd still love to own a little bookshop, though." Heather replied.

"So why hasn't the media exploited this yet? I can already imagine you dressed in a sexy librarian outfit, in naughty poses in front of bookshelves, on the cover of countless magazine covers." Justin ended his short monologue with a wolf whistle.

"The media doesn't know_ anything_ about my past. To my pride, I've managed to avoid every personal question that reporters threw at me. And after a few interviews they got the message and decided to stick to the present." Heather replied, while getting into bed, alongside Justin.

"You mean no one knows about your former ambitions?" He asked surprised.

"No. And I intend to keep it that way." She added.

"You're such a secretive little devil…" Justin teased as he tenderly kissed his girlfriend.

Little did he know that he wouldn't have the chance to kiss her for long…

The same year, on an August evening, Justin was watching reruns, waiting for Heather to return from a shopping session. When he heard the door open, he straightened his T-shirt and prepared to welcome his sweetheart by putting on his warmest smile. But the smile disappeared in a heartbeat when he saw Heather enter the living room, eyes narrowed, fists clenched with fury and heels almost sinking into the floor with every step.

"Heather, what happened?" Justin asked seriously worried by her state.

She didn't reply. Instead, she just pulled out a magazine from her bag and threw it in Justin's lap. He grabbed it and looked at it. It was an issue of the _Dazzling Diva_ magazine and it had a picture of Heather on the cover. _Secrets off the runway-Heather Song's past finally revealed _read the main article's title.

"There's a 3-page article about all the things I've hidden from the press all my life!" Heather exclaimed, on the edge of having a nervous breakdown."_Everything_ is written there: my librarian dream, my life before entering the modeling world, everything!"

She threw her purse on the floor and placed her hand on her forehead, exhaling frustrated.

"Just calm down, Heather. I'm sure-"

"Who the hell could have done this?" Heather asked irritated, while walking nervously around the living room. "This will _ruin_ me. Who? Who could have betrayed me like this? I mean, only a few people knew. Unless somebody made some thorough investigations, I don't see how…" her voice trailed off as she noticed something on the shelf on which she kept her Ming vases.

Under a vase, there was a blue envelope, with a note sticking out of it. Heather picked it up, careful not to break the vase and examined it. She pulled out the note from the envelope and read it.

"_Dear Mr. Carlton,_

_On behalf of our publication, we would like to thank you for your contribution. The information provided will surely result in an immense success. As promised, we have sent the discussed sum, along with our eternal gratitude. _

_Gabriella T. Pry, editor-in-chief of _Dazzling Diva"

The envelope also contained, as Heather noticed, 10 000 dollars. She slowly put the money back and looked at Justin, who was sitting on the sofa speechless.

"You…" She whispered. "You." She repeated, this time with more force. "_You_!" She nearly screamed. "_You_ did this! _You_ betrayed me!"

"Heather, I didn't-"

"You sold me! You _fucking_ sold me for 10 000 dollars!" She yelled, crumpling the piece of paper and throwing it at him. "You can't sell me! I'm not an object. And even if I were, I would be goddamn priceless!"

"Heather, please hear me out!" Justin pleaded, trying to calm her down.

"No! You don't deserve my attention, you bastard!" Heather cut him off. "I trusted you. I let you into my bed, into my apartment and into my life. And what did you do? You betrayed me. You traitor! You Judas!" Heather shouted, and then she took a deep breath and tried to regain her calm.

Justin rose from the sofa and took a single step towards Heather. Then, he showed his palms as if he was giving a peace offering.

"Heather, please understand. I only did this because I desperately needed the money. I've developed a gambling problem over the past few months and I ended up owing lots of money…" Justin tried to explain, but Heather raised a hand to silence him.

"Just tell me this. Did you ever truly love me? Or did you at least care?" She asked without any emotion showing on her face.

"Yes, I loved you! And I still do! You're the only girl for me and I love you with all my heart!" Justin replied, hoping for forgiveness.

But Heather lowered her head, took another deep breath and gave Justin a cold look.

"I want you out of my apartment and my life right now. I'll send your belongings to your manager." She said calmly, without screams and even without any emotions.

"Heather, I'm sorry! I am completely aware of what I've done and I know this is certainly the biggest mistake of my entire life! But I beg you…Don't destroy what we have." Justin pleaded, looking as if he was on the verge of breaking into tears.

"No. I can't destroy what we have, because you've destroyed it first. Get out. Just…Get out." Heather said, not even bothering to raise her voice. She seemed emotionally exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes and an expression of utter disappointment on her face.

Normally, Justin would have fought for forgiveness. He would have fought to convince Heather not to kick him out and eventually forgive him. But no matter how much of a warrior you are, you simply cannot fight and defend something that doesn't exist. In Justin's case, he couldn't try to prove his innocence, since he was guiltier than ever.

So without making a scandal, Justin headed towards the door. But not before he turned around and smiled towards Heather one last time. She was just behind him, ready to shut the door after his departure. And like all artists leaving the stage, Justin made a final speech right after opening the door.

"We both know this is just a minor issue, Heather. Although you claim it's all over between us, I refuse to see it that way." He paused and even chuckled. "Every couple has to experience a few bumps, it's just how things go…And I know that someday, fate _will_ bring us together again. It will be a wonderful way of resuming our love story, my dear." Justin said, extending his hand in order to caress Heather's cheek.

But she slapped his hand and glared at him angrily.

"You are so full of _shit_! What love story? Love stories don't have traitors that betray their supposedly loved one just to get out of a mess. And as for fate, fate can kiss my ass and stay the hell out of my way because I have _no_ intention of ever seeing you again, you selfish and lying bastard! Now _get out_!" Heather shouted, pushing Justin over the threshold and shutting the door in his face.

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

Justin looked out the window, while his fingers were slowly tapping on the edge of his martini glass. It was a peaceful night, with the silver moon shining on the starry sky. Yet, he couldn't sleep. His mind kept wandering. Its main target was a certain person living only a few houses away. Heather-the only woman he had truly loved, who kicked him out six years ago on an August evening.

But he didn't blame her. No, it would have been impossible to. He was the one responsible for it all. If he hadn't made such high bets with such dangerous people, he wouldn't have ended up exposing his lover's secrets to the public. It had been a risky move that cost him his love and consequently his happiness. Ironically, it did Heather nothing but good. Her revealed past magically brought her back into the public eye and her popularity increased considerably.

Justin smiled to himself. He even deserved some appreciation from Heather. After all, if it weren't for him, she wouldn't have gained so much fame overnight. But unlike him, Heather didn't look back in the past. After some time, Justin heard that she had married a successful and rich businessman. It seemed a slap from fate at first, but now he understood everything.

Fate was on _his_ side. Otherwise, how could he explain the fact that a mere business problem led him to the small neighborhood where his love was living? Heather was now at only a few houses away and Justin was finally filled with joy, after many years.

But there was still a problem: the fact that Heather was married and apparently happy alongside her husband. However, it didn't matter that much to Justin.

"Just a minor setback …" He muttered into the dark.

After all, he had fate on his side…


	6. Listen to your heart

**Previously on _Neighborhood Tales_…**

Gwen and Trent had contrasting opinions on marriage…

_"He started with the whole marriage thing…Again. It's like he suddenly feels that he's incomplete if he doesn't have a ring on his finger. Geez!" Gwen ranted._

Katie helped a stranger move in...

"_I would like to buy a house here, on Wawanakwa Lane." Justin added._

_Katie glanced at him from head to toe, then she extended her own hand smiling._

...much to Heather's dismay...

"_Get out and never come into my house ever again!" Heather told Justin, holding the door open._

And Courtney didn't refuse a case, even when it proved to be complicated...

_"Why should I continue to be your lawyer?" Courtney asked on a cold tone._

_"If you didn't want to be my lawyer anymore, you would have already walked out of this diner." Duncan said, folding his arms._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6-Listen to your heart<strong>

_Since the beginning of time, man has struggled between what the mind commanded and what the heart yearned for. As poetic as it may sound, the mind has never been able to control the heart, therefore creating an infinite contradiction between them._

_We'd like to say that we are the masters of our own feelings and that every gesture and emotion is controlled by us. But we would be lying to ourselves, because we are at the mercy of our hearts. And we do not enjoy that, because what feels right in our hearts is considered a terrible mistake by our minds…_

"You did what?" Heather exclaimed, accidentally knocking over her cup of coffee.

"Please don't shout! It makes me feel like I've did something terribly wrong." Katie pleaded, tightening the grip on her own cup.

"I can't believe it! You've sold Sadie's house?"

"I did it on the spur of the moment. It seemed a good idea at first, but after closing the deal and arriving home, I cried until morning…" Katie admitted, feeling the sadness coming back.

Heather took a deep breath, placed the cup on the coffee table and allowed herself to sink into Katie's comfortable sofa. Her friend had invited her over, saying that she really needed somebody to talk to. And Heather was always willing to listen to Katie's problems. But the news came as a shock, especially since Katie had been the most affected by Sadie's death. Although it was part of her job to sell the unoccupied properties from the lane, Heather wouldn't have expected Katie to pass over the keys of her late best friend's house so quickly.

"I thought you said you didn't want to see somebody else living in her house." Heather said.

"At first I couldn't bear the thought of somebody else buying her house. It seemed like she would be…replaced…But then…" Katie paused and bit her lip like she always did when she was worried or overwhelmed. "I started having these dreams. No, nightmares!"

Heather instinctively leaned closer to her. She was starting to feel a touch a concern for her friend.

"About what?"

"About the house…I kept dreaming that I walked into the house in search of Sadie. And the house would always be deserted. But Sadie's things would still be there, so I would call her. But she wouldn't answer. Then, I would notice a trail of blood on the walls…And I would feel Sadie's cold hand on my bare shoulder." Tears started running down Katie's cheeks. "In my dreams I never turned around to see her. But I didn't have to, because I _knew_ she was here!" She said between sobs. "I always woke up in the middle of the night screaming!"

Heather embraced Katie and gently stroked her hair, while she carried on crying.

"It's okay…" Heather soothed her. "It's okay…"

"Tell me I'm not a horrible person for wanting to get rid of the nightmares! I thought that if I sold the house, then the nightmares would stop! And…And they did! I finally had dreamless sleep!"

"You're not a horrible person, Katie." Heather replied. "You just did your job. Just because you sold the house doesn't mean that you no longer love Sadie. You'll always remember her and cherish her. And I bet even _she_ knows that."

Katie wiped her tears with her hand and attempted to smile. Heather smiled back, knowing that her mission to lift up her spirits was completed.

"Feeling better?" Heather asked.

Katie nodded. "Yeah, thank you. I don't normally get so emotional. I'm sorry…"

"No need to apologize." Heather reassured her. "Let the estrogen scream."

Katie chuckled lightly and hugged her friend. "Thank you." She whispered.

"You're welcome." Heather added. "So, who's our new neighbor? I hope she's not the Beth Waggoner type; we have enough gossip mongers on the lane."

"Actually, it's a _him_." Katie said. "And he's gorgeous! I bet he has a modeling career behind him, because that face could make any girl swoon." She chuckled.

Heather's smile faded. Suddenly, everything fell into place. A few days earlier she went jogging and saw Justin standing in front of a freshly sold house. What she didn't realize at the time was the fact that it was _Sadie_'s house. Justin didn't lie when he told her that they would be seeing each other very often. They were _neighbors_. The fact sank in only now, and Heather felt sick to her stomach. Her best friend had offered her former lover the keys to a life near her. Not only was Justin now close to her, but he was also only a few steps from Alejandro as well. And Heather couldn't afford any contact between the two.

"Y-you sold it to…" Heather mumbled incoherently.

"His name is Justin Carlton, if I recall correctly." Katie continued, unaware of Heather's troubled appearance. "And he even asked me out for dinner in order to thank me." She slightly blushed.

"No!" Heather exclaimed, causing Katie to flinch.

"Heath, what's wrong?" She asked worried.

"I don't want you near that guy." Heather answered sharply.

"What? But why?"

"Because…" Heather paused. She couldn't just reveal her entire past though a silly slip of the tongue. "Because I have a bad feeling about him."

"Since when do _you_ have bad feelings?" Katie asked incredulously.

"Just _trust_ _me_, okay?" Heather pleaded. "You're my best friend, Katie, and I don't want you to get hurt. Don't go out with him! Don't even spend time with him! He's up to no good and I know it."

"But how can you-?"

"Call it instinct, feminine intuition, whatever you want." Heather cut her off. "Just don't get involved with him, okay?"

"Okay…" Katie hesitated.

"Alright." Heather sighed with relief.

The two sat quietly on the sofa for awhile, then Katie spoke lightly: "I really don't understand you sometimes…"

"I know." Heather answered. "But you can be weird, too, and I still love you."

"I never said I didn't love you, Heath." Katie chuckled, wrapping her arm around Heather's shoulders.

Heather couldn't help but chuckle as well.

* * *

><p>Bridgette shifted nervously in the leather armchair, waiting for the marriage counselor to arrive. Her mousy assistant had been kind enough to escort her into the office, while assuring her that Miss Shaw would join her shortly. Although she smiled kindly, Bridgette felt as scared as a child in the principal's office. She was afraid of what was about to come, of the possible questioning and secretly accusing glances of the counselor.<p>

Bridgette couldn't help wondering what had actually determined her to seek specialized help. Her relationship with Geoff was perfect, if she didn't think of his absences, his occasional lack of interest or his sudden preference for 'hanging out with the guys'. She sighed heavily and looked around the office. The walls were painted tangerine orange and various exotic-looking objects were displayed all over the room. Bridgette recognized tribal weapons, Australian musical instruments, African pieces of art and even some traditional hats from European countries.

She was impressed. It seemed that Noah's love interest had a passion for travelling. Then, she glanced at a rectangular shape of wood from the desk which had a name carved in it. _Dr. Isabella Shaw_. Bridgette felt even more impressed. Isabella sounded very elegant and sophisticated- exactly Noah's type.

Suddenly, the door opened and Bridgette turned around slightly startled. Instead of a sophisticated-looking and maybe even a bit conceited therapist, she saw a woman in her 30s with curly red hair and a large smile on her face. She was wearing moss green cargo pants, a beige shirt with rolled sleeves and brown sandals. Bridgette wasn't expecting her marriage counselor to look like a safari tourist.

"Hi, you must be Bridgette!" She joyfully exclaimed, grabbing her hand and shaking it vigorously.

"Umm, yes. It's nice to meet you, Miss Shaw…"

"Oh, call me Izzy!" The redhead said as she jumped in her own large leather armchair. "So, Bridgette, what brings you here?"

"Uh, I…" Bridgette shifted uncomfortably. "I'm here because I _think_ I have marriage problems…"

Izzy began scribbling something on a notepad. Bridgette could already imagine it all. She was taking notes, recording every aspect that went wrong with her relationship, writing it all down and preparing some stingy feedback.

"Should I talk about my problems slowly so you can write it all down?" Bridgette cautiously asked.

"Huh?" Izzy asked raising her head. "Oh, I'm not writing anything!" She laughed, showing Bridgette the notepad on which a turtle had been drawn.

Bridgette's eye twitched slightly. This was certainly not the kind of therapist she was expecting.

"Do carry on, though. I'd like to hear what troubles you." Izzy added sounding a bit more serious.

Bridgette cleared her throat and tried to put her thoughts in order. She had rehearsed her speech at least ten times at home. She would talk about her feelings, her doubts and end with a heartbreaking plea for the salvation of her marriage. Sadly, when confronted with the marriage counselor, her coherence was no longer available. So she just improvised.

"I-I…Umm…I mean…I…Umm, my husband…Dinner with friends!" Bridgette stammered.

"You may have some issues there." Izzy said, tapping her chin. "Let's make things easier for you. Do you feel that things aren't going so well between you and your spouse?"

"Yes!" Bridgette replied without hesitation.

"Do you feel lonely?"

"Sometimes." Bridgette admitted.

"Do you wear socks to bed?"

"What? No. I mean…Only if it's a cold winter night."

"I see." Izzy murmured while scribbling something on her notepad. "What color?"

"Green?"

"Oh…"

"What does this have to do with anything?" Bridgette asked slightly annoyed.

"You're insecure and maybe a bit paranoid." Izzy replied without even looking up.

Bridgette remained speechless. It was true. So true that there was no use denying it.

"You're good." Bridgette said barely audibly.

"I know! And it's so much fun than working with patients from mental institutes." Izzy said cheerfully, and then paused to reconsider. "Okay, maybe not _that_ fun. Anyway, let's talk about your husband."

"Geoff." Bridgette murmured, a smile forming on her face.

"How does he usually react after he finishes a meal you've cooked for him?"

"Well, he always eats everything off his plate, arranges the fork parallel to the knife and across the plate, compliments me and gives me a kiss." Bridgette answered, mentally reconstructing Geoff's routine.

"Does he put the dishes in the sink?"

"He puts them next to it, on the counter."

"Then my dear, you have nothing to worry about. He adores you _and_ your marriage." Izzy placed the notepad back on her desk. "You came here because you had doubts. That's good. Doubts in marriages are like mosquitoes in the jungle. They're a pain, but they exist. Wives often feel neglected by their significant other and you probably fit in that category too. But it's all in your head. In your heart, you're sure that you love him and that he loves you."

"Wow…" Bridgette murmured in awe. "You're _really_ good! And so right. Thank you! Thank you so much!" She exclaimed gratefully. "You've saved my marriage."

"There was nothing to save. Everything was already going perfectly." Izzy shrugged. "Now go buy yourself an ice cream."

Bridgette nodded and left the room almost floating. She couldn't wait to get home and jump into Geoff's arms. There was nothing as sweet as knowing that her marriage was indeed the perfect one that all her acquaintances admired.

* * *

><p><em>Trent Smith was a patient man. As a child, he waited calmly to turn 18 and leave home to travel the world and pursue his dream of entering the music industry. At the age of 20, he waited a few good months in order to arrange a meeting with a producer. After that, he waited five years for divine inspiration to appear and help him find the next big hit. Then, after becoming a well-known song writer and meeting his potential soul mate, he waited two years for Gwen to agree to marry him. Which, she never did. Although he was patient, Trent had his limits…<em>

Trent threw the beige envelope on the coffee table, in front of Gwen who was reading on the sofa. She raised her head from the book and cocked an eyebrow.

"It's the invitation to my sister's wedding." Trent enlightened her. "Remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." Gwen replied putting the book down. "What about it?"

"We're going." Trent stated.

"Okay, whatever you say, great master." Gwen muttered, opening her book again.

"Excuse me?" Trent asked flabbergasted.

"You didn't even ask. You just said it as if you own me and you can just give me orders that I _have_ to follow." Gwen replied obviously bothered.

"Is that what you think? That I have this idea that I _own_ you? What the hell, Gwen?" Trent asked irritated.

"You could have asked me if I wanted to come." Gwen said. "You have no authority over me…" She added silently.

"Of course I don't have any authority over you! Because you don't want me to!" Trent replied, louder than he intended. "You don't want me to become a permanent part of your life!"

"Because I don't want to get married?"

Trent didn't reply. But his silence was more relevant than any answer. Gwen sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

"My parents got divorced when I was twelve. And they didn't do it peacefully." Gwen added calmly. "My father made my mother go through hell until the divorce was finalized. And my brother and I had to put up with the whole conflict." She paused for a second and sighed. "When marriage turns sour, everyone gets hurt."

"Your parents had some problems in their relationship. That doesn't mean _we_ will share their fate." Trent responded.

"I…I don't want to risk it. I don't want to destroy what we've already built." Gwen said, shifting on the sofa.

"That means you're not offering me any certainty." Trent sighed. "If you're not willing to commit, then you're in no way tied to me. If you get bored one day, there's nothing to stop you from leaving…"

"Trent, that's not what-!"

"There's no need to explain yourself." Trent calmly cut her off. "I love you more than anything, Gwen. But I won't be able to wait for you forever…."

And that being said, Trent left the room, leaving Gwen in a state of bitter confusion.

* * *

><p>Courtney left her front door open and walked into the hallway of her house mentally cursing her stupid decisions.<p>

"Nice house!" Duncan said from behind her. "Did you buy it with your fancy lawyer salary?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I have!" Courtney replied, half annoyed, half proud.

She led her client into the living room and twirled around, not finding her place.

"Look, everything here is extremely expensive and all the chairs and the sofa are covered in genuine leather." Courtney explained, with a look of worry on her face.

"Uh, can I just…sit somewhere?" Duncan cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, but don't damage anything!"

Duncan rolled his eyes and sat on the sofa. He made himself comfortable and glanced at the stressed out host.

"You should really chill out." He remarked.

"I don't know what the hell I was even thinking. Lawyers _never_ bring clients home!" She began ranting. "It's unprofessional and-"

"Calm down, Ally McBeal!" Duncan exclaimed exasperated.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Courtney shouted terribly annoyed. "Ever since I met you, I've broken almost my entire set of rules! This is not me! I don't accept jailbirds as clients and I most certainly don't bring them home!"

"You brought me here for business, for Christ's sake!" Duncan replied. "We're not going to have wild sex on your living room floor."

Courtney didn't say anything. Instead she blushed madly and cleared her throat. Watching her get so flushed, Duncan couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" Courtney asked with hostility in her voice.

"Your reactions." He replied. "I bet your sex life is boring as hell."

"You have no right to invade my privacy and make presumptions about my personal life!" Courtney snapped. "And if you must know, I'm not a slut who brings guys she barely met into her home to mess around on the couch!"

"But isn't that exactly what you did just now?" Duncan asked, getting up and walking closer to her.

"What?" Courtney asked flabbergasted. "No! I didn't bring you over to sleep with you!"

"But you'd like to." Duncan added playfully.

"I-I-I don't _do_ this…" Courtney stammered.

"Didn't you say you've already broken almost all of your rules? Breaking another one can't hurt." Duncan added. "Come on, live a little, Miss Iron Lawyer."

Courtney would have normally slapped somebody for talking to her like that. That was what her mind told her to do. But what she _felt_ was different. Totally uncharacteristic to her, she crashed her lips against Duncan's and kissed him passionately. And with that, she destroyed her entire set of rules.

* * *

><p><em>The heart can never agree with the mind. They do not desire the same things, so they are constantly in contradiction. But although it has reason as its main weapon, the mind often loses ground in favor of the heart, whose feelings prove to be much stronger.<em>

_That is why love can often overshadow paranoia…_

Bridgette leaped on the sofa next to Geoff and lovingly wrapped her arms around him. He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

_Guilt can overcome stubbornness…_

Gwen entered the kitchen, where Trent was preparing himself dinner. She held up a simple beige dress and asked if it would be suitable for the wedding. Trent just smiled and nodded.

_And all our rules can be broken on the spur of the moment..._

Courtney and Duncan were making out on her sofa, while their clothes were beginning to form a pile on the floor.

_But sometimes, even though we are warned of something and there seems to be only one logical thing to do, we reject it and do what we _feel_ it is right…_

Katie stood in front of her window, meditating on what Heather had told her earlier that day. She always followed her every piece of advice and it always turned out well. But this time, it seemed highly improbable that Justin was the bad guy Heather suggested. So, listening to her heart, Katie picked up the phone, dialed a number and waited patiently for the person on the other line to answer.

"Hello?" She murmured shyly. "Hi, Justin, it's Katie St Clair. I…Yes, how nice of you to remember! Umm…The reason I called is…Uh…Is your invitation for dinner still available?"


	7. Hot in the City

**Previously on _Neighborhood Tales…_**

Courtney's rules no longer applied…

_"Don't tell me to calm down!" Courtney shouted terribly annoyed. "Ever since I met you, I've broken almost my entire set of rules! This is not me! I don't accept jailbirds as clients and I most certainly don't bring them home!"_

Heather felt neglected…

_"Admit it! You care more about that job than you care about me!" Heather huffed. "You're always staying too much at your office and you'd rather go to lunch with your business partners than spend a little time with me."_

Sierra met Gwen...

"_Cody and I have been buddies since high school, back when he was a geek and I was the weird Goth girl." Gwen added with a laugh, while Sierra tried to keep calm and force a smile._

Bridgette thought something was missing from her life...

_"Do you feel lonely?" Izzy asked._

_"Sometimes." Bridgette admitted._

And Katie found out how complicated suicide motives can be...

_Katie put the note down, suddenly feeling weak._

_"Oh, Sadie…What did you do?"_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7-Hot in the City<strong>

_One of the main ingredients of any summer on Wawanakwa Lane was heat. And the summer after my death announced itself to be incredibly hot. Children were forbidden to go outside without hats and bottles of water, while most housewives decided to stay indoors with the air conditioning turned on. Even so, few can keep themselves cool. And those who do are the creative ones…_

Duncan poured the water from a half-liter bottle over his head. The water ran down his face and bare chest, creating a refreshing sensation. Across the kitchen table, Courtney was holding her coffee mug in mid-air, gazing at him nearly mesmerized. He noticed her stare and smirked.

"Like what you see?"

She snapped out of it and adopted a scolding expression.

"Look what you've done! Now there's water all over my kitchen floor." Courtney complained.

She was wearing an oversized T-shirt from her University days, while Duncan was only wearing his jeans. Even with the fan turned on, the kitchen was slowly turning into an oven.

"That's why mops were invented." Duncan calmly replied. "Besides, it's _just_ a floor. Unless you were planning to use it for some other purpose, in case you got bored of the couch." He added wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Ugh! I would never do it on the floor!" Courtney remarked, folding her arms as a sign of irritation.

"Yeah, tell me that again in five minutes, when you'll probably think otherwise."

"Last night was a mistake!" Courtney hostilely snapped. "I realized it only this morning, but it was a mistake!"

"Uh-huh, I figured that out when you woke up, screamed and fell off the couch, face down on the carpet." Duncan remarked, pouring a few drops of vodka into his orange juice.

"I can't believe it. I've turned into a whore!" She lamented, burying her face into her palms. "Is that vodka?!" She suddenly asked raising her head.

"Yup."

"But I don't even have alcohol in my house!"

"I bought it from the corner store while you were crying in the shower." Duncan replied.

"I was _not_ crying in the shower!" Courtney loudly defended herself.

"Okay, whatever you say." Duncan rolled his eyes. "You know, I liked it more when we were having sex. At least then you weren't complaining."

"You…liked sleeping with me?" Courtney asked cautiously.

"It was alright." Duncan said taking a sip from his improvised cocktail.

Courtney bit her lip and shifted a little in her chair. Then, she placed the coffee mug on the table and took a deep breath.

"Then…Do you think we could…do this again sometime?" She nervously asked.

"Sure, why not?" Duncan shrugged. "I told you you'd change your mind."

Courtney blushed and grabbed her _Top Lawyer_ mug again.

"It's because of the heat! I'm sure of it!" She mumbled into the mug.

* * *

><p>Gwen took another sip of her soda can and then placed it on the bench she was sitting on. In the center of Fairbrook was a lovely park with an enormous fountain, where Gwen often came to unwind after a busy day. The park was, in her opinion, the best choice for a hot day.<p>

So, she had grabbed her navy shorts and white T-shirt, put two bottles of water into her oversized bag and headed towards the park. But, before that, she had called somebody to hang out with in the park.

"Don't you dare jump into that fountain or I'll be _so_ jealous!" Gwen shouted to her companion.

Cody just smiled and stepped away from the fountain, heading towards the bench. He was also wearing a pair of shorts and a red Hawaiian shirt that caused Gwen to playfully make fun of him. But he wasn't bothered by that.

"We could jump together. That way neither of us will be jealous." Cody proposed.

"Yeah, then I'll find myself on Youtube with over a million views. How does 'Crazy woman jumps into fountain' sound?" Gwen asked.

"Not catchy enough." Cody shrugged.

"Oh, I forgot I was talking to Mr. IT." Gwen dramatically placed her hand over her heart and fluttered her eyelashes.

"I'd be more careful if I were you. I could hack into your Facebook and add fluffy cats, pink and collecting Barbie dolls to your Interests."

"You wouldn't dare!" Gwen said between chuckles.

"Yeah, probably not…" Cody shrugged. "So, what's new?"

"Nothing much." Gwen shrugged as well. "I have a wedding to addend this week."

"That sounds like fun."

"Yeah, if you're the type who _likes_ weddings." Gwen scoffed. "But it's Trent's sister who's the bride, so we have to go."

"Are you going to wear one of those poufy girlish dresses?" Cody chuckled.

"God, no!" Gwen shuddered. "I'm not even excited about having to wear a regular dress. It's just not my style…"

"You weren't much of a fan of dresses in high school either…" Cody added.

"Some things never change, huh?" Gwen smiled.

"I guess so." Cody grinned sheepishly. "So, umm, are we going to be like we were in high school?"

"You mean, best buds?" Gwen asked. "Sure! Actually that's why I wanted to see you today. After you told me that you've moved to Fairbrook, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get back in touch. If that's okay with you, of course."

"It is!" Cody quickly replied. Then, he cleared his throat trying to lower his enthusiasm. "It, it would be great to, you know, be best friends again like in high school…"

"I'm happy to hear that." Gwen said, holding her fist for a bump.

Cody smiled and fist bumped her.

"So, is there any special girl in your life?" Gwen grinned.

"Uh, not exactly…" Cody said scratching the back of his head.

"How about your neighbor? Sierra, if I remember correctly."

"Oh, we're just…friends…neighbors…Friendly neighbors!"

"Well, I think she really likes you." Gwen said before taking a few sips out of her bottle of water.

"But…you've just met her. How-?!"

"I saw the way she looked at you. She could probably steal you at night and lock you in her basement." Gwen laughed. "Oh, that was mean. I'm sorry, I was just joking around."

"Yeah…" Cody tried to chuckle. "How's _your_ boyfriend?"

"Trent's doing alright. He's currently writing a few songs for a band he thinks will be 'the new best thing'. And, other than that, there's nothing new."

"That sounds nice."

The two continued their conversation, switching from subject to subject, laughing or scoffing, until it was time for Gwen to head home and continue working on her art project.

"Well, this was really nice." Gwen said, as she rose from the bench. "I should go find my car now."

"I'll come with you." Cody offered. "Did you leave it in the parking lot?"

"Yeah, right under a tree for some shade. I want to get in a car, not in an oven." She laughed. "Anyway, thanks for coming today."

"Thanks for inviting me!" Cody said with a sheepish grin.

"Anytime." Gwen said as she approached her dark blue Ford.

But just as she got ready to unlock it, she gasped in horror and dropped her keys in shock. Cody quickly rushed by her side, trying to figure out what happened. Before he could ask, he noticed the enormous scratch on the side of the car. It had clearly been made with a sharp object and it was too long and twisted to be made by accident.

"Who could have done this?!" Gwen asked still in shock.

"I don't know, but that person must have been really angry…" Cody said, tracing part of the scratch with his finger.

"Oh, God!" Gwen groaned running her fingers through her hair in desperation. "I'd better call the insurance company. Trent is so going to freak out!"

"If there's anything I can help you with…"

"I'll be alright, thanks." She replied. "Take care, okay?"

Cody nodded and waved as Gwen got in the car. Then, when Gwen drove off, he began walking back to his apartment. He was much too distracted to notice Sierra strolling only a few feet away, casually whistling a tune and swinging her set of keys on her index finger. She was too happy to worry about removing the dark blue spot from the tip of her key.

* * *

><p>Heather huffed angrily and pulled back the curtain of her bedroom window. Alejandro was still on the porch talking to his associates on the phone. He had been doing that for almost two hours and Heather decided it was time to interfere. Not only was she bored but the heat was too unbearable to allow her to sit on the couch and do nothing. So, she set her plan into motion.<p>

"Honey, I think I'm going to wash the car. Could you give me a hand?" Alejandro heard his wife ask from upstairs.

"I'm on the phone right now, Heather!" He exclaimed covering the speaker. "Besides, it's too hot outside to wash the damn car!"

"Fine, then I'll wash it myself!" Came her response.

After a few minutes of intense negotiation over the phone, Alejandro heard his wife going down the stairs.

"_Stubborn as always…"_ He though, shaking his head.

Heather walked out of the house with a bucket of water in one hand and a huge sponge in the other. She saw Alejandro talking on the phone again and rolled her eyes.

"Be careful, it might stick to your ear." She cynically advised.

Alejandro turned around prepared to give her an unfriendly look. But he forgot his though when he saw her. His jaw dropped and he almost dropped the cell phone as well.

"Heather! What the hell are you doing?!" He exclaimed in full shock.

Heather cocked an eyebrow and seemed unaffected by his reaction. She was wearing a pair of very short jean shorts and a plaid red and black shirt knotted above her stomach. Her hair was hanging freely and her lips had a layer of pink gloss on them.

"As I've already mentioned, I'm going to wash the car." She replied nonchalantly.

"Dressed like that?!" Alejandro asked scandalized.

"I don't see what the problem is." Heather shrugged. "Now if you don't want to help me, excuse me while I make sure my baby sparkles."

All this being said, Heather walked right past her flabbergasted husband, who remained with his jaw dropped and his Blackberry in his hand.

"_Hello?!" _An irritated voice came from Alejandro's phone, bringing him out of his shock. He shook his head a few times to snap out of it and resumed his conversation, keeping an eye on Heather at the same time.

Heather stopped in front of her cherry-red Porsche and put the bucket down. While Alejandro's car was in the garage, she had left hers on the driveway. Everything was going smoothly. She discretely glanced at the porch, where Alejandro was still on the phone, but looking straight in her direction. She couldn't help but smirk.

So she set everything into motion. First, she dipped the sponge into the bucket, then with sensual moves, she started washing the hood of the car in circular motions. She was no stranger to this method of seduction. As a model, she learned the importance of body language and was now putting it to the test.

Heather stretched on the car, seductively swaying her hips while trying to reach some high spots on the vehicle. After a few more languorous moves over the Porsche, she snuck a peek at her husband who was now arguing over the phone. She huffed and decided it was time to go to the next level. So, she threw the sponge on the grass and took off her shirt, revealing a red bikini top. After all, she wasn't going to ruin her bras by getting them wet.

Heather then dunked her shirt into the bucket and proceeded in using it as a replacement for the sponge. She sat comfortably on the hood of the car and resumed her sensual cleaning. Whenever a male inhabitant of the neighborhood passed by, he either remained with his jaw dropped, winked or wolf whistled.

Alejandro, who was deeply engaged in a verbal attack, didn't notice his wife's change of wardrobe until he heard the whistles and compliments from the male audience passing by. He then turned to face the driveway and what he saw was the last drop that filled the glass. He ended the call, stuffed the cell phone into his pocket and furiously rushed to his wife.

"Heather! What in God's name is going on here?!" He thundered.

"Oh, hi, honey." She sweetly greeted him. "The sponge wasn't doing such a good job, so I decided to improvise."

Alejandro glared at her angrily. She was disgracing his propriety, his name _and_ herself. Still, even as furious as he was, he couldn't help seeing how attractive Heather was in her shorts and bikini top, sitting on the car like a pin-up model.

"You're making a scene." He said trying to regain his calm and not stare at her chest.

"I'm just washing the car." She innocently defended herself. "Which reminds me, I should get rid of the water from my shirt."

So she took her crumpled shirt and squeezed all the water from it right on Alejandro's brand new burgundy shirt. He was so surprised by her act that he couldn't even utter a word.

"Oh, look at you! You're all wet now." Heather said mimicking disappointment. "Let's get you out of this ruined shirt." She said, and with a brisk gesture, she tore off his shirt leaving his chest bare.

This only added to Alejandro's shock, who looked into Heather's eyes questioning her actions non-verbally. But then, realization hit him. He recognized a certain look in her eyes. He saw determination, cunningness and lust. And that was enough to convince him.

"You minx!" Alejandro growled, as he picked Heather up bridal-style and carried her to the house.

"What about your business partners?" She teased.

"They'll survive half an hour without me. I have some _other_ business I'd like to engage in." He replied with a smirk.

"Only half an hour? That sure is disappointing…" Heather scoffed.

"Fine, an hour."

"That's more like it." She smiled triumphantly.

And so, Alejandro's BlackBerry was turned off for an hour, much to Heather's delight.

* * *

><p><em>Bridgette Baxter once believed that she had the life she had always dreamed of. She married the man she dreamed of always being together with. She lived in the house she always dreamed of living in. But in her dreams, there was always something more. There was always the innocent laughter of children, calling for her dream-husband and playing in her dream-house. Bridgette liked to believe that she could make all her dreams come true. However, the one that was still unfulfilled didn't depend entirely on her.<em>

Bridgette opened the window of her kitchen in hopes of getting some fresh air to enter the house. But it was too hot to feel any fresh air. She sighed and looked out her window. She could easily see her neighbor's front yard, where her children would always come out and play. Even on such a hot day, the Kaminski twins were still outside, dueling with water guns. The two blonde kids looked so happy and innocent, it made Bridgette suddenly feel empty inside.

She tore herself away from the window and decided to do something to distract her. So she tried to prepare some lemonade. As Bridgette was gathering all the necessary ingredients and placing them on the kitchen table, Geoff appeared whistling cheerfully.

"How's my favorite girl doing today?" He asked, gently embracing his wife.

"I'm alright. I was thinking of preparing some lemonade. Do you want to help?" Bridgette asked while opening the jar in which she kept the sugar.

"Sure!" Geoff immediately accepted. "I'll squeeze the lemons!"

"Here you go!" Bridgette said, slowly throwing him two lemons, which he easily caught. "You know, Geoff…I've been thinking…" She said hesitantly.

"About what?" He asked, starting to squeeze the first lemon half, above a measuring cup.

"I'd really, really want us to have a baby!"

Geoff's eyes widened in shock and as he turned to face his wife, he accidentally squirted lemon juice into her left eye.

"Oh, my eye! Damn it, it burns!" Bridgette cried in pain.

"Oh, crap! I'm so sorry, honey! Here, let me help." He said, trying to wipe her eye with a tissue.

"Ouch, ouch. It's…it's okay. But, Geoff, I really wish we had kids." Bridgette said, trying to open her damaged eye.

"Sweetheart, we've had this talk before…"

"Yeah, five years ago." Bridgette scoffed.

"Yes, five years ago we agreed to not have kids right away. You and I both wanted to live awhile on our own. To get to know each other, to have fun…"

"I know, Geoff." Bridgette said, gently rubbing her eye. "But now I don't want it to be just the two of us. I want to hear giggles, I want to change diapers, and I want to have someone to leave behind so as to not feel like I've wasted my life for nothing. I'm ready for a child, Geoff!"

"But I'm not." Geoff solemnly replied. "I'm sorry, but I'm not."

Bridgette looked at her husband helplessly. Her dreams had been shattered and there was nothing she could do about it.

"I'm sorry…" He said, trying to place his hand over hers in hopes of comforting her.

But Bridgette moved her hand and silently turned her back.

"Bridgette…"

"I need to be alone now." She said, still not facing him.

"Alright." Geoff accepted and walked out of the kitchen.

Bridgette sighed and approached the window. When she looked out, she couldn't see the Kaminski kids. She was grateful for that. She didn't have the inner strength to cope with seeing them.

* * *

><p>Katie wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. Her garage was just like a desert, except it had dust instead of sand. Although it was almost unbearable to be in there, she knew that it was a 'now or never' moment to organize the garage.<p>

After Sadie's death and the news that her house had to be sold, Katie was the one who took all of her late best friend's belongings and placed them into boxes, which eventually ended up in her already cluttered garage. Still, they were the earthly remains of Sadie, so she couldn't just throw them away.

Katie finished piling up the boxes containing her old books and clothes that needed to be given to charity, when she saw the cardboard boxes filled with Sadie's things. It was strange; even though she packed everything herself, she didn't exactly pay attention to what was in them. Ever since she found the threatening note, Katie had been too frightened to investigate further. But as she looked at her best friends' possessions, she suddenly wondered if she could find something to explain Sadie's final gesture.

Katie approached the boxes and opened the one labeled _Living Room_ _Drawers_. She remembered packing that one. All she had to do was take out a few drawers and empty their content into the box. It wasn't the most elegant solution, but it was quick and efficient, just like Katie wanted. Now, she had enough time to see what exactly was _inside _those drawers.

She dug her hand into the box and patiently examined every object she took out. Soon enough, the portion of floor next to her was covered by scarves, maps, doilies, stuffed animals and even a few cosmetics. There was nothing out of the ordinary, so Katie actually felt silly expecting to find dark secrets in her friend's boring stuff. But just as she was about to take her hand out and abandon the search, her fingers came across something cold and metallic.

Katie's fingers instinctively twitched. But she grabbed the strange object and brought it out to light. It was a silver lighter with a pink rose on it. Normally, an object as trivial as that wouldn't have had any effect of Katie, but that lighter gave her goose bumps. Because she had seen it before.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Four years earlier…<strong>_

Katie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear in an attempt to loosen up. She never was particularly good at waiting alone in other people's houses. Even though she and Sadie had developed sort of a friendship in the previous year, Katie still felt like a stranger in her house.

When Sadie returned into the living room, Katie felt truly relieved. The host smiled and offered her guest a cup of mint tea. Katie smiled and thanked her. She believed Sadie looked wonderful in the floral-print dress she had offered her as a Christmas present.

"Would you like some more sugar?" Sadie asked.

"Oh, no, thank you, I'm alright." Katie replied.

Sadie smiled and then turned around towards the shelves filled with miniature glass sculptures. There was a space in there that she quickly filled by placing a golden candlestick with one long white candle in it. She then pulled out a silver lighter from a nearby drawer and solemnly lit the candle.

Katie watched the whole process with strange admiration. She was almost mesmerized by the dancing flame that came to life because of the lighter. She even noticed the delicate rose painted on the lighter. It was so pretty.

"What's the candle for?" Katie couldn't resist asking.

"It's…for remembering." Sadie replied, facing her guest. "For remembering a person very close to my heart."

"I-I'm sorry…" Katie stuttered, not knowing what to say. "Did he-?"

"Oh, it's not a _he_." Sadie added amused. "It's a _she_."

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Katie exclaimed. "I'm such an idiot! I just assumed it was…"

"And old boyfriend?" She interrupted. "No, I was never good at keeping boyfriends. But I guess I wasn't that great at keeping friends, either…" Sadie added bitterly. "I sometimes wish I could turn back time and stop myself from doing thoughtless things and hurting the people I cared about. It's just like a domino…If you destroy one person's life, then you destroy another one in the process and end up destroying your own." She sighed. "I am such a horrible friend…"

"Sadie, I don't think you're a horrible friend." Katie said compassionately. "I mean, _we're_ friends, right? And I don't consider you to be horrible at all. So that proves that you're not horrible!"

Sadie genuinely smiled and approached Katie to give her a loving hug. As Katie embraced her friend, she felt happy and proud of herself for proving so helpful. But at the same time, she still wondered what the story behind the candle was.

* * *

><p>The memory was so vivid in Katie's mind that she shivered as if the room temperature had suddenly dropped below freezing point. The candle ritual fascinated her at first, but looking back now, it was actually terrifying. Who was the candle for and what did Sadie mean by her talk about destroying people's lives?<p>

She was so focused on those questions that when she heard her name being called, she let out a short shriek.

"Katie?!"

Katie placed her hand upon her chest, trying to calm herself. She recognized the voice. It was Gwen, probably standing on her front lawn calling for her. Katie stood up and walked into the house, in order to greet her friend properly by opening the front door. She wasn't ready to share what she had found in the garage yet.

* * *

><p><em>Summers in Wawanakwa Lane are always hot. And as always, some can handle the heat, while others cannot. Still, there isn't always a correspondence between the temperature outside and what is going on in people's lives.<em>

_Some enjoy the body heat of another…_

Courtney placed her head on Duncan's chest, trying to get some sleep while he watched a baseball game in her living room.

_Others enjoy raising the temperature in the bedroom…_

Alejandro and Heather were chuckling and teasing each other between the white sheets of their king-sized bed.

_However, some people may lack the warmth of a complete home…_

Bridgette slightly moved the curtains of her kitchen window and saw her neighbor's children playing badminton.

_While others remember that revenge is a dish served cold…_

Sierra rubbed her key with an old green cloth soaked in alcohol to get rid of the blue paint stain.

_And even in the hottest days of summer, some can still get chills…_

As she waved goodbye to Gwen, Katie instinctively placed her thumbs in the pocket of her jeans. That was when she felt the cold lighter once again. She took it out and just stared at it, thinking that she had probably involuntarily shoved it in her pocket when she heard Gwen call. In that hot summer day, Katie once again shivered.


	8. Oops, I did it again

**Previously on **_**Neighborhood Tales…**_

Bridgette asked for help…

_"So, Bridgette, what brings you here?" Izzy asked her._

_"Uh, I…" Bridgette shifted uncomfortably. "I'm here because I think I have marriage problems…"_

Gwen and Trent received an invitation…

"_My sister called a few minutes ago." Trent replied. "She's getting married!"_

Courtney's impulsive night turned out better than expected…

_"You…liked sleeping with me?" Courtney asked cautiously._

_"It was alright." Duncan said taking a sip from his improvised cocktail._

Heather found a way to distract her husband…

_"Oh, look at you! You're all wet now." Heather said mimicking disappointment. "Let's get you out of this ruined shirt." She said, and with a brisk gesture, she tore off his shirt leaving his chest bare._

And Katie recalled something from her and Sadie's past…

_"What's the candle for?" Katie couldn't resist asking._

_"It's…for remembering." Sadie replied, facing her guest. "For remembering a person very close to my heart."_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8-Oops, I did it again<strong>

_Making mistakes is normal. It's what makes us human. A wise man once told me that never mistaking is less valuable than making a mistake and then never repeating it. However, doing this is harder than it seems. Because even though we know that some things are wrong…We keep on doing them._

Bridgette was waiting once again in the leather chair from Izzy's office. She kept glancing at the vases brought from Africa, wishing that Izzy would hurry up and start her session. Bridgette couldn't blame her for keeping her waiting, especially since her visit was an unannounced one. She strategically placed her beach bag over her jean shorts in order to cover a larger area of her legs. She would have dressed properly for a counseling session, but Geoff was still home when she prepared to leave, so she had to make up an excuse for her departure. The only thing that came to mind was a quick trip to the beach. That wasn't suspicious at all. Except she had to dress for the beach, which meant jean shorts and a navy top above her swimsuit. The look had been completed with a pair of flip-flops and a beach bag. It was weird to see her counselor dressed like this, but it was an emergency for Bridgette.

The door finally opened and Izzy entered with a coffee mug in her hand and a magazine under her other arm. She was wearing a green sundress and a beige shirt over it. When she saw Bridgette in the chair she had a genuine puzzled look on her face.

"Bridgette? What are you doing here? I didn't have any appointments for-"

"I know." Bridgette admitted. "But I felt the need to see you. I have a problem I need to discuss about."

Izzy listened carefully as she sat in her leather chair and placed the mug and magazine on the desk.

"I want a baby!" Bridgette exclaimed.

"Uh, Bridgette, I don't know what you've heard about my previous occupations, but I don't sell babies." Izzy replied. "I once sold hair on the black market and even a few kidney stones, but that's all!"

Bridgette took a moment to process what Izzy had just said. She tried to block out any mental images and not ask any questions, so she continued.

"No, I want to have my _own_ baby! I want to be pregnant and become a mother!" She explained.

"Oh, I see. But that's a matter you have to discuss with Geoff, not me."

"But that's the problem…" Bridgette sighed. "He's not ready for children. At least, that's what he says…"

Izzy smiled sympathetically.

"I understand." She said. "It's a common problem, actually. Most women develop maternal instincts very early in their life, so they usually want to become mothers as soon as they find somebody good enough to start a family with. Men, on the other hand, don't usually exhibit this kind of behavior. They are more childish, they want to live their life to the fullest. And they believe that a child will end their 'youth' and force them to become responsible. That's probably the case with Geoff."

"That selfish bastard!" Bridgette muttered, trying to fight back a few stinging tears.

"You're hurt and that's okay, but there's no need to be angry with him. He'll eventually realize that a child is the perfect way to accomplish himself."

Bridgette wiped her eyes with her hand and tried to nod.

"In the meantime, all you can do is try to keep yourself happy." Izzy added. "You could maybe take up a new hobby or do something you've been dying to try out. The whole world doesn't revolve around your future baby. It will be an important part of your life, but only after it's born. Until then, try to focus on yourself."

"But what if I'll never have a baby? What if I'll be all dried up when Geoff finally decides to grow up and agree to be a father?" Bridgette asked, another set of tears preparing to roll down her cheeks.

"Patience, Bridgette! You can't cut the cocoon to get a butterfly and you can't hurry up a child being conceived. You will get pregnant someday. Maybe it will be planned, maybe it won't. Maybe it will be easier for Geoff to accept the baby when he finds out it has already began its life inside your womb. You can't see the future, but you can hope for the best." Izzy said, pulling out a card from a hedgehog-shaped holder.

"If you ever need to talk, just call me." Izzy added, handing Bridgette a small business card.

"Thank you so much, Izzy!" Bridgette said gratefully. "I really appreciate all your help!"

"That's my job." Izzy said smiling. And Bridgette smiled back, holding the card confidently.

* * *

><p>Heather sat on the bamboo sofa from her porch, absently moving her fingers across her cell phone and staring into space. She was home alone yet again and nothing seemed to entertain her that day. She had managed to trick Alejandro into choosing her over his work a few days ago, but now they were stuck in the same daily situation: him at the office, her at home.<p>

Heather sighed and kicked off her brown wedges in order to pull up her feet on the sofa. She was wearing a short and breezy burgundy summer dress which was transparent enough to reveal the lines of her lingerie. As she brought her legs underneath her, she thought of calling Alejandro. Maybe if she played her cards right, she could convince him to come home earlier for some…fun time.

Heather cleared her throat and dialed the number. After about five seconds, her husband answered.

"_Yes, mi reina?"_

"Hi there, loverboy." She greeted seductively. "I was just thinking about you…"

"_At least one of us has time to think. I haven't even had time to drink my coffee in peace…"_ Alejandro sighed. Heather bet that he was rubbing his temples at that moment.

"Why don't you come home and I'll make you some coffee just the way you like it."

"_Tempting, but…"_

"Can you guess what I'm wearing?" Heather asked, knowing that she had to play dirty in order to win this round.

"_Clothes?_" He asked smugly.

Heather rolled her eyes and tried her best not to call him a smartass.

"Nope, just the lingerie you bought me last Christmas…"

She waited. She could hear him clearing his throat. There was a moment of pause in which she was positive that she had won.

"_You mean the red one?" _He asked trying to keep his voice still.

"Red and all lace, just the way you like it." Heather purred into the phone.

There was another moment of silence in which she was already mentally celebrating her victory.

"_I'll be home in two hours._" Alejandro said simply.

"And I'll be waiting." Heather replied with a wide grin spread across her face.

When she ended the call, she could hardly contain her excitement. It felt so good to win.

"I love being in power." She happily whispered to herself.

"And apparently you love lying." Somebody else added.

Heather almost let out a scream of surprise. She instinctively placed a hand above her heart to calm herself and turned her head to face a smiling Justin on her porch. She had no idea how he could sneak up on her like that.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" She hissed irritated. "I thought I told you to stay away from me!"

"Oh, Heather, you know very well that I can't do that. It's against everything I want and need." Justin replied placing his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

He was wearing a dark red shirt which was a close shade to the one Heather had chosen to wear. She twitched at the thought of fashion telepathy with him.

"Well, I don't care what you want and need. _I_ want _you_ to stay out of my life!"

"You're a liar."

"Excuse me?!" Heather asked flabbergasted.

"You lied to your lovey-dovey husband a minute ago and now you're lying to me." Justin explained.

"I did not-"

"You're wearing _white_ lingerie…"

Heather blushed and quickly turned her back at him. This made Justin burst into laughter.

"I've seen you naked hundreds of times and now you're embarrassed that I've noticed your underwear? Heavens, Heather, what did the suburbs _do_ to you?"

She huffed and shot him an angry glare.

"They did _nothing_ to me." She replied furiously. "If you believe that I've been softened by a white-fenced house and a peaceful and quiet environment, then you're making a big mistake. If this weren't such a small and tight-knit community I would crush you right here and now without worrying that others might notice your disappearance. But luckily for you, I'd have trouble removing the blood stains off the porch, so I won't do anything."

Justin smirked and got a few inches closer to the angry housewife, despite all her threats.

"You're sexy when you become dangerous." He whispered.

Heather instinctively shoved him, but he was still on his feet. She wanted him gone, but he was more stubborn than ever.

"Why won't you leave already?!" She asked exasperated. "I've already told you that I have nothing left but hate for you. Pure and utter hate! I want you out of my life! Why won't you understand?"

"Because I don't want to go!" Justin exclaimed. "I didn't come here looking for you. But when I found out that you were here, I knew that I had a chance to make things right."

"There are no more _things_ between us." Heather cut him off sharply. "I'm married to the perfect man. Hot, rich, cultured and a god in bed!"

"And yet he leaves you alone most of the time." Justin added mockingly.

Heather pursed her lips. It was nasty blow right in her pride. She crossed her arms and tried to remain calm.

"At least he didn't betray me." She added coldly.

Justin's smile faded. He didn't say anything for a short while, standing in front of his old lover like an embarrassed child. She kept staring at him with her icy look, waiting for him to admit defeat and leave. But he didn't. Instead, he pulled out a silver circle which immediately caught Heather's eye. She gasped when she realized what it was.

"My bracelet!" She said in an affected whisper.

It was unreal. Her favorite bracelet, the one that she had received when she started modeling and the one that she lost years ago, was resting in the palm of Justin's hand. A mix of confusion, nostalgia and strange happiness overwhelmed Heather.

"Where did you get it?"

"Don't you remember?" He asked softly.

She frowned or a moment. What was there to remember?

"No…" She murmured.

"It was six months after we started dating. We were in Italy for a photo shoot. After sharing a bottle of wine under stars you gave me the bracelet. Remember what you said?"

"It doesn't matter." Heather insisted. "It's in the past, just like you."

Justin smiled weakly and shook his head.

"See? This is where you're wrong. I'm also in the present." He added, while taking Heather's hand and placing the bracelet in her palm. When he closed her palm, he kept his hand on it a little longer. And Heather didn't fight it. They stood in silence with their hands one above the other gazing into each other's eyes.

"You do remember." He said simply.

"I think it's time for you to go." She replied taking her hand away. "Thanks for bringing it back…" She added weakly.

"It's not the only part of the past that I plan on getting back." Justin replied sincerely before leaving Heather's porch.

She didn't even watch him go. She felt drained after the encounter. Heather opened her fist and saw the shining silver bracelet she had loved so dearly. When she entered the house and shut the front door behind her, she looked longingly at the piece of jewelry and saw that its inscription hadn't faded. _Never give up_ was engraved on the bracelet. It had been her motto in her modeling career.

Also, Justin was right. She did remember what she had told him that night when she gave him her bracelet.

"Never give up on me…" Heather whispered into the empty house, just as she did that night.

And at that moment, she realized that was Justin's intention. To never give up on her. She sighed and slowly leaned on the door, remembering that her husband would come home soon. That was a comforting thought.

* * *

><p>Gwen heavily sighed and tried straightening the mint bridesmaid dress she had been forced to wear. Five minutes after arriving at the Smith mansion, where Trent's sister Kathryn was going to have the wedding reception, she was announced that Kathryn had chosen her as one of the bridesmaids. That was horrible news for Gwen. Not only did she hate going to weddings, but she also hated the concept of bridesmaids. And also, she despised the dress she was supposed to wear to fit in with the other bridesmaids. It looked like frosting and it made her look deformed.<p>

She was trying to pull on it in front of the mirror, when Trent entered the bedroom which had temporarily turned into a dressing room. He was wearing a black suit and looked ravishing. Gwen, on the other hand, looked like melted ice cream.

"How's it going?" He asked smiling.

"I hate it." Gwen replied bluntly. "Why did Kathryn choose _me_ as a bridesmaid? Didn't she have enough friends?"

"Oh, come on! It's a great honor and it means that she already considers you part of the family!" Trent comforted her, before placing a gentle kiss on her neck.

"But I still don't like it…" She groaned.

"Gwen, you promised you would be nice. You've already made your share of mistakes for today." Trent added, while arranging his tie in the mirror.

Gwen knitted her brows and turned around to face him.

"I _did not_!"

Trent shot her a look of disapproval.

"You asked my sister if she was pregnant. In front of her future husband. And my parents!"

"Okay, maybe I did screw up a little." Gwen mumbled, lowering her head. "But you've got to admit, it would have been a valid reason for the whole wedding."

Trent rolled his eyes and pulled the strap of Gwen's dress back on her shoulder.

"Be careful with that." He smiled.

"Blame Mother Nature for not giving me bigger boobs." Gwen added sarcastically.

Trent laughed and the couple shared a short loving kiss, then he left to talk to his parents about how life had been treating him. Gwen remained all alone in the improvised dressing room, gazing at her frowning reflection and wondering if she could slip out the window without being noticed.

Suddenly, the door flung open and a smiling bubbly blonde, wearing an identical mint dress, came inside.

"Hey there, girlfriend!" She happily greeted, flashing a blinding white smile.

"Didn't you learn how to knock?!" Gwen angrily snapped.

A ditzy bridesmaid was the last thing she wanted bothering her right now. But just before she could tell her to get out, another two nearly-identical blondes joined the first one. They all had the same shade of blonde hair, perfect teeth and mint dresses which made them look like Cosmopolitan cover girls.

"Oh great, they can multiply…" Gwen muttered to herself.

"You must be Gwen!" The one with the longest hair exclaimed. She seemed the leader of the trio. "We're Amy, Gina and Tina!" She said, but Gwen didn't exactly catch who was who. Not that she wanted to know anyway…

"We're Kathryn's BFFs!" The one who had wavier hair clarified.

"_And_ her bridesmaids!" The blonde who had a bob haircut added.

Gwen looked at them baffled. They were standing there grinning, excited about the wedding. For Gwen, they were the anti-Gwen army. She didn't know whether to fly out the window or knock them to the ground and run a marathon until she got home. Her escape would have been much easier without the long uncomfortable dress.

"Uh, why are you even here?" Gwen asked, trying to roll the hem of the dress upwards in order to be able to walk in it.

"Because you're a bridesmaid, too!" Wavy-blonde replied.

"Yeah, we've got to prim ourselves to be pretty before the ceremony." Leading-blonde continued.

"And we have to help Kathryn with everything. It's so stressful being a bride!" Bob-blonde added and her two friends nodded.

"I think I'll pass." Gwen replied simply.

"Oh, come on! It will be fun! Think of it as a girls' sleepover party. Only it's during the day. And we don't have to wear PJs and try out new make-out techniques." Bob-blonde continued, leaving Gwen slightly terrified at the thought of what these girls did in their free time as teens.

"Sorry, I have some…stuff to do before the wedding." Gwen said, causing the blonde trio to frown. "But I'll see you at the ceremony where we can…chat?"

The bridesmaids exchanged glances and then those large grins appeared again.

"Okay, but if you need anything, we'll be in Kathryn's room on the second floor." Wavy-blonde said.

"And if you're hungry, we'll send in the maid to bring you some salmon tarts." Leading-blonde added.

Gwen faked a smile and thanked them. Then, she waved and waited for them to get out. When the blonde army shut the door, Gwen sighed and crashed on the king-sized bed. How was she supposed to go through with this?

* * *

><p><em>Courtney Atkins knew the secret of success. It implied separating her professional life from her personal one. Through hard work she became the lawyer she dreamed of, even if that had meant sacrificing her social and love life. Her friends admired her for her ambition and self-control. In a world where women sacrificed everything to live their very own fairytale romance, Courtney diligently ensured herself a successful career. No man ever made her throw her principles away. That was, of course, until Duncan came along…<em>

"I've talked to the judge today. Your trial will be next month, in order to fit his schedule." Courtney said, as she poured herself another cup of coffee.

Duncan was sitting at Courtney's kitchen table, playing around with a neatly folded napkin. This time, he was fully dressed in his favorite pair of jeans and one of his rock band T-shirts. In contrast, Courtney was wearing a work-appropriate short-sleeved navy dress. She looked at him and huffed annoyed.

"The least you could do is pay attention to me when I'm talking!" She scolded. "It's _your_ damn case after all!"

"Sorry, Legally Brunette, but I've got other things on my mind right now." Duncan replied slightly bothered.

"Like what?!" She asked crossing her arms.

"Well, my idiot roommate forgot to mention that he would prolong his stay in Chicago. And the rent hasn't been paid for about six months. So, tomorrow I'm going to be officially kicked out and I have half of today to find a place to stay." Duncan explained.

Courtney leaned on the counter with her brows knitted.

"That sounds bad. I'm sorry." She murmured. "So where are you going to stay?"

"I don't know." Duncan shrugged. "Most of my friends are either living with their girlfriends or in jail. So I can't get much help from others."

"You could share a place with somebody new." She suggested. "I don't know, maybe answer an ad on the internet or something…"

Duncan smirked, puzzling her. He was in a desperate situation, yet he seemed happy with himself.

"Or I could just move in with you." He said with a charming grin spread across his face.

Courtney's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to protest, but all her words were inarticulate because of her shock. She never shared her house with anybody, especially a man she had just recently met.

"Oh, come on, this place is big enough for the both of us." Duncan added.

"But it's _mine_!" She wined like a kindergarten child. "And you're messy and careless and I can't have you destroying my perfectly organized home!"

"But I bet you'd love having me around to destroy your freakishly-organized house." Duncan teased. "Think of all the other things we could do as housemates."

Sex was the only activity Courtney could think of. She blushed slightly, but then tried taking the option into consideration. It was irrational to share a house with a guy with a criminal record, but he seemed to be nice underneath all the sarcasm and dirty innuendos. And she felt so lonely in the past few years…

"Well, I guess we could arrange something…" Courtney said unsurely, as she massaged the back of her neck. "But you will have to obey _my_ rules!"

Duncan smiled triumphantly and nodded. Then, he got up and kissed his new housemate. She didn't resist, instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her body against his.

"I hope you're not expecting me to pay rent." Duncan whispered in her ear, as he reached for the zipper of her dress.

"Not in dollars anyway…" Courtney replied nearly breathlessly.

Courtney never let her man change her principles. But the situation with Duncan was entirely different.

* * *

><p>Katie stood in her quiet living room, slowly moving her fingers across Sadie's silver lighter. The metal was cold, even in the hot summer afternoon. It kept her awake every night since she had found it among her best friend's belongings. She kept wondering what else she could find in there.<p>

It was wrong to stick your nose in other people's business. Katie's mother had taught her that ever since she was a kid. But what if the rule didn't apply when solving mysteries? Well, Katie didn't know what the etiquette for solving mysteries was; she hadn't exactly been friends with Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.

"I promised myself I wouldn't violate my best friend's privacy. And I already broke the rule once. I don't want to do it again…" Katie told herself. "But what if I can find clues that lead to the one who caused Sadie's death? I can make sure he gets what he deserves for hurting my friend."

And with a thirst for righteousness and vengeance, she put the lighter in her pocket and went into the garage, in hopes of finding another significant object from Sadie's past.

* * *

><p><em>People make mistakes. It's how humanity works. And everyone keeps telling us that we have to learn from our mistakes and never repeat them. But we never learn and we always do them again…<em>

_We hide from our loved ones…_

Bridgette arrived home and hugged Geoff, who offered to squeeze some fresh orange juice for her. She agreed and while he was off to the kitchen, she took her beach bag to the bedroom, careful not to let Izzy's card peak out.

_We let our mind wander to the past which hurt us…_

Heather placed her head on Alejandro's bare chest, as he kissed her forehead and held her close. She glanced at her nightstand, where she had left the bracelet and felt uneasy. She then hugged her husband and whispered: "I love you!" to him. He smiled and said he loved her too.

_We do things which we know that might not turn out well…_

Courtney stood by the open door, quietly watching Duncan bring boxes filled with belongings into her house. He winked as he walked by and she smiled amused.

_We break the rules if we think it's justified…_

Katie dug into another cardboard box and pulled out a very old copy of _Gone with the wind_, from which a photo fell out. She picked it up and looked at the three girls from it. They were in their early 20s and the one in the middle, the slightly chubby dark-haired girl was none other than Sadie herself. On her right stood a confident-looking blonde with short hair and an arm wrapped around Sadie's shoulders. The other girl had long and slightly wavy dark hair and seemed a bit melancholic, despite her attempt to smile. On the back of the photo, Katie found the following text:

"_Here's to the beginning of another great year! See you back at Sunflower! _

_Lots of love,_

_Tiffany."_

When she put the photo down, Katie knew what she had to do. She had to solve the mystery.

_And sometimes we really screw up big time…_

As the ceremony began in the church close to the Smith mansion, the guests were anxiously waiting for the bride to walk down the aisle. Gwen was standing along with the three blondes in the bridesmaids' line, waiting for Kathryn to make her appearance. The husband-to-be was nearly shaking with anticipation and Gwen wondered if Trent would be in the same situation if they ever got married. But she quickly abandoned the thought when a sudden feeling a nausea overwhelmed her.

Just then, Kathryn started making her way to the aisle, accompanied by her and Trent's father, who was close to having tears in his eyes. Still, Gwen couldn't exactly concentrate on the happiness of everyone because her stomach started to ache. When the bride stopped in front of the groom and the minister began his speech, Gwen let out a discrete moan of pain.

"Is everything okay?!" Wavy-blonde, who was sitting right next to her, asked with a concerned look on her face.

"I don't feel so good…" Gwen whispered shakily.

And at that exact moment, she lost control of her digestive tract and vomited on Kathryn's pearly white dress. The bride let out a shriek of horror mixed with disgust, while the entire church gasped in horror. In the front row, Trent's eyes widened in shock when he realized that his girlfriend had just thrown up on his sister on her wedding day.

"Oh, crap…" He muttered.

When Gwen opened her eyes and saw the mess she had caused, she straightened her back and tried to face the bride, who was boiling with anger.

"You!" Kathryn growled. "You ruined everything!" She shouted.

_And in moments like these, when words never come in handy, there is just one thing that some of us can say…_

"Oops?" Gwen whispered embarrassed.

* * *

><p><strong>Hello, dear readers! I'm happy to see that people are still interested in the story and that everybody is curious what will happen next. I'm sorry for not getting a chance to update very often, but I'm currently in my senior year of high school and I am studying like crazy to ace my final exams and to get accepted to a good University. So please, be patient with me and I promise you chapters filled with suspense, romance and unexpected twists. Thank you for all you reviews, alerts and favorites! You brighten my day with every positive review and inspire to me to become a better writer. <strong>

**I don't usually feel the need to comment at the end of a chapter from this story, but I wanted to clarify that the lack of updates is due to the busy period of my life. I **_**have not**_** forgotten this story! I adore it with all my heart and I feel an immense joy every time I write a new chapter. I always try to do my best and that's why I never rush my writing. I could never live with myself if I posted quick but lousy chapters. I am grateful for your patience and loyalty, and in exchange, I want to offer you a story worth reading. Hopefully, I'll succeed. Until next time, I'm sending you lots of hugs, my dear readers! :)**

**PurpleFunkytown.**


	9. Bye-Bye, Miss American Pie

**Previously on **_**Neighborhood Tales...**_

Heather's past refused to leave her alone…

_"It was six months after we started dating." Justin began. "We were in Italy for a photo shoot. After sharing a bottle of wine under stars you gave me the bracelet. Remember what you said?"_

_"It doesn't matter." Heather insisted. "It's in the past, just like you."_

Bridgette's problems were solved by an unexpected friend…

_"Marital issues are __much__ more common than you think. Trust me. My girlfriend is always working ten hours straight because of all the people who need help reviving their relationships." Noah added._

_"Wait…your girlfriend is-?" Bridgette asked flabbergasted. _

_"A marriage counselor." Noah replied. _

Gwen accidentally destroyed a wedding…

_"You!" Kathryn growled. "You ruined everything!" She shouted._

_"Oops?" Gwen whispered embarrassed._

Courtney accepted Duncan as her housemate…

_"Well, I guess we could arrange something…" Courtney said unsurely, as she massaged the back of her neck. "But you will have to obey__my__rules!"_

And Katie became lonely…

_"__It's harder than I thought." Katie sighed. "I really miss Sadie, it's like I'm incomplete without her. I know we've recently buried her, but I feel like she's been gone for ages. I really miss her!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9- Bye-Bye, Miss American Pie<strong>

_There is an old tradition on Wawanakwa Lane, which keeps every housewife in her kitchen, nearthe oven, despite the summer heat. The Wawanakwa Pie Festival has been around for decades, bringing joy to all the desert-lovers. For an entire day, everybody would walk around the stands improvised on the main street and taste their neighbors' baked treats, exchange recipes and happily socialize. It was the last part that most women were actually looking forward to. Good gossip was the only suitable reward for the long hours spent baking, and everybody wanted to be rewarded…_

"I'm telling you, I knew right from the start that Beth's marriage was on the rocks. I mean, Brady was seeing a marriage counselor. That's the first sign of a degrading relationship!" A skinny blonde commented while arranging slices of apple pie on a platter.

Bridgette, who was standing nearby cringed. She had brought her own pie and was slicing it when she overheard two of her neighbors talking about Beth Waggoner. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered her, but when they reached the subject of marriages falling apart and counselor visits, she felt sick to her stomach. What if her own life would end up as gossip material?

"Bridge, are you alright?" Katie asked, slightly concerned.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine!" Bridgette quickly replied, careful to sneak in one of her trademark smiles.

Katie smiled back and took off the plastic foil covering a half-burnt pie. Like every year, she volunteered to help with the serving. But it was her first year alone, since Sadie was the one who always helped her. She felt a twinge of sorrow, but tried to shake it off. After all, she was supposed to be happy, nice and helpful today. Sadie would have wanted that.

"I hope you saved some of your cherry and vanilla pudding pie for me. I'm absolutely in love with it!" Katie told Bridgette with a broad smile on her face.

Bridgette wasn't paying attention though. She was absently pulling at the collar of her blue dress. Katie couldn't quite figure out where she was looking, but she assumed that her friend was just staring off into space.

"Bridgette?" Katie asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Bridgette jumped and turned around startled. When she saw it was only Katie, she exhaled relieved and put a hand to her forehead.

"I'm- I'm sorry. I was…Ugh, I need to walk alone for a bit." She muttered and shuffled away from Katie's table.

Katie just stared at her confused. Something was worrying her friend, but she couldn't go after her. Despite it being only morning, people were already starting to gather round.

A little girl who couldn't have been more than three years old, stopped in front of Katie and stared in awe at all the pies.

"Bue-beii?" She tried to ask.

Katie smiled and started cutting a tiny piece of blueberry pie for her.

"Sure thing, honey!"

Gwen tried to dial Trent's number again. And once again it went to voicemail. She ran her left hand through her hair and groaned.

"Trent, I'm home. For the millionth time, I'm sorry about what happened at the wedding. I hope Kathryn's alright and that she had a great time after kicking me out. I just…I think I had too many salmon tarts that day. But still, I wish you would call me. So…Call me?" She said hopefully into her cellphone.

Gwen put away the phone and decided it was probably time to get out of her pajamas and do something to keep her mind occupied. Trent hadn't called her since the wedding and she couldn't blame him. After all, she did throw up on his sister on her special day. He was still at the family mansion and Gwen could only hope that he wasn't spending time with another woman, sipping champagne and then engaging in a certain type of activity on one of the king-sized beds covered in satin sheets…

Gwen shook her head. The scenarios in her head were getting way out of hand. She walked towards the closet and pulled out the first items she could find: a dark green top and a pair of black shorts. She got dressed, thinking what to do. Suddenly, she had a revelation. It was Pie Festival Day!

Gwen smiled and rushed to get out of the house as soon as possible. She couldn't wait to get stuffed with pie. Her favorite had always been the apple one, but once a year she was willing to taste anything baked by the neighborhood housewives.

She walked a bit on the main street until she saw a large crowd gathered around garden tables. Everybody was holding paper plates and chatting, while a few women were cheerfully serving pie. Gwen recognized Katie in the crowd. Her pink dress and radiant smile couldn't go unnoticed. So Gwen made her way through the gossiping neighbors and stopped in front of her friend.

"Wow, you sure are busy today, Katie." She commented.

"Gwen, hi!" Katie happily exclaimed. "How are you? It's been days since I last saw you. How was the wedding?" She asked while tossing plastic foil in the bin under the table.

"Let's leave that conversation for another day." Gwen replied, trying to avoid the subject. "Now how about some pie?"

"Sure. Apple, I suppose." Katie added, sticking a knife in a freshly baked apple pie. "This one is from Mrs. Yale. She brought it a few minutes ago, straight from the oven, so today is your lucky day."

"If you say so…" Gwen muttered as she scanned the other desserts available. "Is that cherry pie?!"

Katie raised her head and blinked a few times.

"Uh, yes…" Katie replied, slightly surprised. From what she knew, Gwen wasn't a fan of cherries. "Would you like a slice of that?" She asked unsure.

"Sure! I mean, it's the Pie Festival after all." Gwen answered with a shrug.

Katie placed the two slices on a paper plate and offered it to Gwen.

"Enjoy!" Katie said with a genuine smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Gwen took her plate, grabbed a plastic fork from a pile on the table and walked away to find a quieter spot. She stopped next to a forgotten lawn chair, in Beth Waggoner's front yard. The woman was somewhere in the middle of the crowd, gossiping as much as she could, so Gwen seized the opportunity and sat down. She gazed at her neighbors who were happily chatting and praising the pie varieties, while sampling her own piece. It was delicious. Delicious enough to help her forget for a few moments that her boyfriend was not there to enjoy the pie with her, all because he had to remain at the Smith manor in order to wash the shame caused by <em>somebody<em>'s sudden regurgitation on the bride…Well, perhaps the pie wasn't delicious enough.

Courtney groaned and emptied the contents of her purse on the welcome mat in front of her door. She had left her keys at work and was now trying to find the spare one she always kept in her purse. But nothing spilled out of the bag, except her cell phone, wallet, lipstick, planner, PDA, pens, aspirin bottle, cards and tissues.

"Ugh!" She groaned irritated and put back the contents of her purse one by one. "Where the hell-?!"

But she didn't get to finish her sentence, because realization suddenly struck her. She slapped her forehead, cursing her stupid short memory. Of course she didn't have a spare a key anymore! She had given it to Duncan!

Courtney straightened her back and took a deep breath to calm herself down. Then, she knocked on the door. _Her_ door. She waiter for an answer, but Duncan didn't seem to be home. She knocked again, louder this time. Courtney couldn't believe it. She was locked out of her own house. Feeling her anger building up, she practically kicked the door, not giving a damn about the possible damage.

Just then, she heard the door being unlocked and saw it crack open. Duncan was now standing in front of her, with eyes half-opened and wearing only a pair of shorts. She looked at him stunned.

"Why the hell would you try to break your own front door?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. By the state of his hair and the sleepy look on his face, Courtney assumed he had just woken up.

"Why the hell wouldn't you answer?!" She shouted, trying her best not to stare at his abs. Again.

"I was snoozing on the couch." Duncan replied simply.

* * *

><p>Courtney huffed and walked right past him into the living room, where she threw the purse on the coffee table and sat on the couch, closing her eyes and trying to regain her balance.<p>

"I forgot my keys at work and I don't have a spare pair anymore." She explained. "What was I supposed to do? Wait on the porch like a dog before you finally decided to rise and shine?"

Duncan rolled his eyes. Unlike Courtney, he was still standing. If she didn't know any better, she would have said he looked quite imposing. But she knew better.

"You didn't mention the fact that living here meant becoming your personal slave." He scoffed.

"I told you that you have to obey _my_ rules!" She exclaimed irritated.

"And did you make a sleep schedule for me as a rule?!"

Courtney went silent. She actually didn't. So she looked away and mumbled a 'No'. Duncan noticed her change of tone.

"Besides, what do you want me to do? Go out and join the mob?" He asked.

Courtney raised her head confused.

"What mob?" She asked.

"After you left this morning, I went downstairs to get something to drink and looked out the window. And it looked like the whole neighborhood had a meeting. After that, I think I walked in the living room and dozed off." He added, while glancing out the window again. "Oh, look, they're still there! Is this some kind of freaky neighborhood with cults and shit? Because I do not…"

"They're not forming a cult, Duncan." Courtney cut him off, facepalming. "Today is the annual Wawanakwa Pie Festival."

"_Pie_ festival?!" Duncan repeated. "You mean there's free pie out there?!"

"Basically." Courtney shrugged. "But it's mostly an opportunity for the people in the neighborhood to gather and socialize. The pie is just a pretext." She explained.

Duncan laughed at her comment. She turned to him, clearly annoyed.

"The hell is it. I bet half of that crowd is there just for the free pie." He added.

"Ugh, not everybody is like you!" Courtney snapped. "Some people value social interaction more than eating!"

"Yeah, and those people die of starvation." Duncan replied, reaching to grab his T-shirt from the couch. Courtney noticed his action and cocked an eyebrow.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked.

"To get some free pie!" Duncan grinned.

Courtney quickly stood up and placed her hands on her hips, looking just like a mother ready to scold her children.

"No, no, no! You're supposed to be working on your statement for court today. The trial is _this week_ and I don't plan on losing it because you're too irresponsible to do your part!" She said in her typical 'I'm the boss around here' manner.

"Oh, come on! Can't it wait? There's free food waiting for me outside! And what are you now? My mother? Because I'm not comfortable having sex with somebody who acts just like my mother." Duncan added with a slight shudder.

"Then you can have pie as your last meal before going to jail!" Courtney nearly shouted.

Duncan looked at her and saw that a vein on her neck was becoming dangerously prominent. That was a cue that she was about to get very angry. He rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. He didn't want to put up with Courtney's nervous breakdown, so he threw the T-shirt back on the couch and sighed, as if raising the question 'What now?'.

Courtney stared at him curiously. He didn't even put up a fight. She smiled lightly, acknowledging her small victory. Maybe he wasn't going to be so difficult to live with after all…She cleared her throat.

"Thank you for your cooperation." She said. "You're doing yourself a favor, actually. If you write that statement convincingly enough, you'll be sure to escape any accusations."

"Oh, I'm going to write that thing. But you're going to get me some pie." Duncan added with his characteristic smirk.

Courtney's smile disappeared completely. She looked at him flabbergasted.

"Excuse me?!"

"Here's the deal, Princess." Duncan began, as he plopped on the couch. "I'll sit her quietly and write whatever you need for the court thing, _only_ if you go to your neighborhood's little festival and grab me a slice of freshly baked cherry pie. Deal?"

"I am not your maid!" Courtney snapped angrily. "I did not graduate Law School with honors to be a maid!"

"I never said you did." Duncan shrugged. "Just think of it as a fair trade. Plus, I'm sure I'd be _much_ more productive after eating."

Courtney didn't even know what to say. She was clearly being blackmailed. Her reaction was a mixture of annoyed huffs, a gasp or two, something like a shriek, a growl and an annoyed "Fine!". She took off her favorite beige blazer and walked straight out the door, leaving a smirking Duncan behind.

* * *

><p><em>Noah Campbell<em> _always made sure to never come across as the neighborly type. Cynical and with an obvious hatred for stupidity, he refused to fake a smile and carry out conversations with an equally fake friendliness. So, he made sure that all his neighbors knew that, in order to avoid having to listen to somebody mourn their cat or ask for advice about gardening. Yes, Noah wasn't exactly a neighborhood favorite. However, he had his close and good friends who were used to his brutal honesty, know-it-all attitude and lack of tact. If you wanted to be around Noah, you had to accept all the things that made him different from the rest…_

Bridgette was sitting on the sidewalk, away from the crowd, with her hands on her knees, staring into space. She sighed from time to time, but didn't register what was happening around her. She tended to go inside a bubble whenever there was something on her mind. But somebody managed to interrupt her train of thought.

"You know you look like a hobo, right?"

Bridgette looked up and couldn't help but smile at the comment. Perhaps she did look like a hobo, but that didn't seem too important.

"Thanks for letting me know, Noah." She laughed. "Care to join me?"

"Ah, yes! That's exactly what I want the headlines to read 'Successful lawyer spotted helping homeless woman!' " Noah said, emphasizing the line with a fitting hand movement.

"Except that I'm not homeless." Bridgette interjected.

"The journalists don't know that." Noah added, as he sat on the sidewalk right next to her. "Alas, there are no paparazzi following me around today. Or ever."

Bridgette managed a little smile, but quickly fell back into her melancholic state. Noah noticed that and easily guessed that there was something serious on her mind.

"What's troubling you?" He asked.

Bridgette just shook her head.

"It's…it's probably nothing." She replied.

"Is this still about your marriage problems?"

Bridgette nearly gasped and quickly turned towards Noah. How did he know? Did Izzy talk about her? She opened her mouth to ask, but nothing coherent came out.

"So that's what this is all about. Wow, I should get a part-time job as a psychic." Noah added.

"Did Izzy mention something about me?" The blonde asked, clearly concerned.

"Oh, yes. We discuss her patients every day, during breakfast and dinner, because we have no better available topics." Noah replied, rolling his eyes.

Bridgette exhaled relieved. His sarcasm was definitely a good sign in this case. She felt like a hypocrite for thinking that Izzy would do something so unprofessional.

"I…uh…" Bridgette tried to articulate. "I don't know why I even considered that. Of course you guys don't talk about me in your spare time." She added with a nervous chuckle. "It's just that…I overheard something today that made me…slightly upset."

Noah cocked an eyebrow, so the blonde felt obligated to continue.

"Gossip. It was gossip."

"Gossip in the suburbs?!" Noah fake-gasped, dramatically placing his hand over his mouth. "I am completely and utterly shocked."

Bridgette couldn't help but laugh and cover her face, slightly embarrassed by her comment. It sounded so trivial.

"It was gossip that I could…relate to." She commented. "And I just thought…What if _I_ would end up the neighborhood's next hot topic? I don't want everybody to analyze and overanalyze my marriage like it's the main article of a tabloid. I just…don't!" She took a deep breath and massaged her temples. "I have a reputation to hold. It might sound vain, but it's all I have."

Bridgette turned to Noah, who was simply listening to her. His face didn't give much away, so she couldn't figure out if he was silently judging her. Nevertheless, she carried on.

"I'm nothing special in my tiny world. Heather is the gorgeous one, Courtney is professionally accomplished, Gwen is the artistic one, Katie is the nicest person in the whole neighborhood…Me? I'm the one with the perfect marriage. I've told you before about what troubles me. Heck, you're one who recommended that I paid Izzy a visit. She told me not to worry, but I can't help it. I…" She moved her hands in a strange, ambiguous gesture, as if to express something she couldn't put into words.

Noah was confused, but he still nodded.

"I'm just going to tell you this: The less you worry, the happier you will be. People are going to talk and complain no matter what you do. This is a universal truth." Noah replied, then rose from the sidewalk. "Now I don't know about you, but I'm going to eat some pie and screw the public opinion."

Bridgette smiled widely and stood up. She suddenly felt more confident and reassured. She thought that maybe she should try adopting Noah's cynical views more often.

"Screw the public opinion." She repeated and along with the lawyer, returned to the pie stands.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, from the opposite part of the street, Heather was heading towards the pie festival as well. She was wearing a navy blue pencil skirt and a red top, and was holding her cell phone in her perfectly-manicured hand. Her heels were rhythmically tapping on the pavement and heads were constantly turning. She wasn't even trying to catch anybody's attention; instead she was concentrated on her phone, waiting for a call. When the cell phone started to vibrate, she quickly answered.<p>

"Took you long enough…" She said instead of a greeting.

"_Coffee breaks aren't exactly scheduled for today. I've been busy as hell with this new deal and McLean isn't easy to work with." _Her husband's tired tone could be heard on the other end.

"Ugh, remind me _why_ you're working with him if he's _that_ difficult." Heather replied.

"_For the money."_

"Hm, that's always a good reason." Heather admitted. "But I wish you wouldn't have to stay so long at work."

"_Oh, _mi amor,_ you know how I'd love to be with you right now, but I have this-"_

"I know, I know." Heather cut him off with a sigh. "You're going to miss pie day again."

"_Have you baked something?"_

"You know I'd rather model fur coats on an outdoor catwalk in the Sahara desert than sit in front of a burning oven to bake pies." Heather replied, earning a laugh from her husband.

"_How would you like a vacation in Europe?" _Alejandro suddenly asked, catching her off-guard.

"Europe?" She echoed. She had to admit that her husband's interest in a possible vacation made her incredibly happy. "Sounds great. Are you already thinking of ways to escape the office?"

"_I think we both deserve_ _an escape."_ He replied. _"Not to mention some time alone together…"_

Heather smirked and was sure that Alejandro was doing the same. They had been together long enough to develop a certain telepathy. And they both knew what they would be doing on such a vacation…

"_Well, I'd better go before I get so entangled in my own daydreams that I throw away these files and come home to ravish you." _

Heather closed her eyes and played the scenario in her head. She made a sound similar to a purr and grinned. She really wished that those files would fly out the window. But knowing her man's determination and diligence, she knew that she had to wait a few more hours until the daydream could come true. So she opened her eyes and accepted reality.

"I see nothing wrong with your idea." She said with a light smile. "How about we put it into practice when you come home?"

"_That is the best suggestion I've heard all day. If you were working for me, I'd instantly promote you." _

"Wouldn't it be unethical for me to sleep with my boss?" Heather asked, earning a few questioning glances from the old ladies she was passing by on the street. "Alright, I've reached pie central. Do you have any cravings or anything?"

"_You." _Alejandro replied simply.

Heather couldn't help but smile widely. He always had a way with words. And she loved that about him. It wasn't even about the physical part anymore. He wasn't trying to get her into bed like at the beginning of the relationship. Now, even his innuendos were hiding a genuine loving feeling.

"Then come home already!" Heather replied, slightly whining. "Meanwhile, I'll try to find you some blackberry pie."

"_I love you, _mi amor!_"_ Came Alejandro's sincere declaration.

"I love you, too!" Heather added, before ending the call.

She dreamily held onto her phone for a few moments before tucking it in her tiny red shoulder bag. She loved her husband. She really did. And she knew that the feeling was mutual. She missed him so much! They barely had time to cuddle or spend time holding hands. He arrived so late at night that she wouldn't even notice when he crawled in bed next to her. As much as she hated to admit it, Heather missed_ those_ moments of intimacy. The small, innocent ones, filled with love and nothing else.

As she sighed and walked towards the pie stands, an old woman came up to her and shook her head disapprovingly.

"Fornication is a sin!" The old woman thundered, with the solemn tone of a preacher.

Heather rolled her eyes. She had probably overheard the part about sleeping with her boss. Did she really think she could scare Heather with religious threats?

"At least it's satisfying!" Heather spat, causing the old woman to gasp and walk away filled with indignation.

The ex-model smiled victoriously and turned her attention to the small crowd that was still filling the street. It was almost the middle of the afternoon and housewives were _still _standing around, eating pies and gossiping like there was no tomorrow. Heather groaned. She liked gossip as much as any woman her age, but what was the point of talking behind your neighbors' backs in the middle of the neighborhood?

"Idiots everywhere…" She muttered under her breath.

Just then, she spotted Katie standing behind a table, receiving pies from an old Asian lady that moved on Wawanakwa Lane earlier that year. Nearby, forming an organized little clique, were Gwen, Bridgette and Courtney. Gwen and Bridgette were both devouring slices of baked dessert, while Courtney was shaking her hands agitated. She was obviously narrating her latest daily struggles, in a very passionate manner. Heather approached Katie, whose face instantly lit up when noticing her.

"Hi, Heather! I was just thinking about you." Katie said. "Thank you once again for the pies, Mrs. Akana! I'm sure they will be appreciated!" She added to the old woman, who smiled and bowed before leaving.

Katie pulled out a knife and began slicing the newest addition to her stand. Her hands were stained with fruit juice, despite her efforts to clean them with wet wipes. Heather looked at her friend and felt a twinge of sorrow. It was her first year serving pies without Sadie and the pain must have been unbearable. Still, Katie managed to hide it all behind a large smile and polite small talk.

"I was hoping you would show up today." Katie broke the silence.

"I hope you weren't expecting a pie from me." Heather replied with an involuntary smirk.

"Gwen asked for two slices of cherry pie, so I'm not expecting any more miracles today." She laughed. "Now tell me, what can I get you?"

"Do you have any blackberry pie around here? Or was I supposed to come here at the crack of dawn?"

Katie chuckled. Her friend's sarcasm would have made Noah proud. She glanced around the table and raised plastic and aluminum foils to see what assortments had remained. When she spotted a piece of blackberry pie, she happily placed it on a paper plate and offered it to Heather.

"Here, cover it with a napkin. You don't want flies buzzing around it, do you?"

Heather took a red napkin off the table and did as instructed.

"How long are you supposed to stay here anyway?"

Katie shrugged. "Until everybody's gone home, I guess." She added. "Or until the pies run out. But women have been bringing them here since this morning, so I don't know if they'll stop before sunset."

"And you've been standing here all day without any help?!"

Heather was obviously upset by the idea of her best friend serving pies for eight hours straight to some ungrateful bastards who probably didn't even bother to thank her. Katie quickly observed this and placed a hand on her shoulder, while offering a reassuring smile.

"You know you don't have to worry about me." Katie murmured. "Seriously, I'm fine. Plus, I haven't been _exactly_ alone, there were others volunteers here during the day. I know it might sound crazy, but I actually enjoy doing this. There's…" She paused for a second and lowered her gaze, as if embarrassed by her upcoming words. "There's something special about this day. About the whole Pie Festival. Sadie made it special for me. I didn't want to give it all up after she…you know…"

Heather nodded softly and felt the need to hug her. But it wasn't exactly the time and place for her to do such a thing. The whole neighborhood knew how bitchy she was, so showing her compassionate side would have only been in her disadvantage. So she just looked at Katie and lightly patted her on the shoulder.

"Maybe I worry too much about you, but I think that's normal in a friendship, right?" Heather asked. She didn't exactly have many true friends in her past and Katie was the only person in her life who could fit in the 'best friend' category.

"And to think that it all started on a wild night out…" Katie chuckled.

"Tequila does wonders." Heather winked, earning a few unfriendly glances from the people around her, who were waiting to be served.

"We'll start reminiscing after I'm done for the day." Katie laughed. "The girls are over there, why don't you join them for a bit of chit-chat?" She asked, motioning towards her right, where their mutual friends were hanging out.

"Okay, I'll get out of your hair. Good luck dealing with these people. They're lining up here like they're the starving children from Africa." Heather scoffed, before waving her hand in a goodbye gesture and walking away.

Katie just smiled and shook her head, while the old ladies in the line were already angrily discussing Heather's comment. The raven-haired former model had a natural talent of insulting people and sparking controversies. For Katie, that was a welcomed touch of color in the monochrome life on Wawanakwa Lane.

When Heather walked up to her friends, she saw that they were all as enthusiastic about the festival as she was. Courtney's face expression betrayed her irritated state, while Bridgette kept glancing at the crowd silently judging everybody she couldn't stand. Gwen was stuffing up with baked goods, but from the look on her face she wasn't delighted, only bored.

"Hey, Heather! What's up?" Bridgette casually asked before taking a bite out of her slice of pie.

"I just came to see what the commotion was all about." Heather shrugged. "I'm not convinced people are here just for Mrs. Silas' half burnt blueberry pie."

"Are you kidding?" Courtney scoffed. "Half of the neighborhood will have sore throats by tomorrow. The mouths aren't moving to chew, just to dish."

"At least they're having fun. Mindless fun is still fun." Gwen added with her mouth full.

"Don't mind Gwen, she's a real grouch today." Courtney commented.

Heather glanced at her neighbor's plate. "What the hell is that?!"

"Uh...Chicken and turkey pie with cherry sauce." Gwen replied, not raising her gaze from the plate.

Heather closed her eyes and tried not to gag. To her, it sounded like blended Thanksgiving leftovers, not pie.

"How can you eat that?!" Heather asked flabbergasted.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Gwen answered. "I just...felt like trying it."

"It might be just a coping mechanism for Trent's absence." Bridgette shrugged.

"And the fact that you ruined his sister's wedding." Courtney added nonchalantly.  
>Heather's eyebrow rose. Gwen sighed and gestured to Bridgette, as if to invite her to explain.<p>

"She puked on the bride." The blonde whispered.

Gwen kept her head low. She was feeling embarrassed all over again. She should have kept her mouth shut, but the need to share her experience with someone had been too strong. Heather couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"Wow, Gwen, you sure know how to make a party memorable."

"Oh, bite me." Gwen muttered. "It wasn't my fault! It was the salmon."

"So you're eating crap because you're secretly feeling guilty?" Heather asked incredulously.

"I'm not eating crap! It's pie." Gwen interjected. "And I don't know. I don't even know what I'm feeling."

"Guilt!" Courtney coughed.

"Most likely." Bridgette added.

"Probably…" Gwen sighed in defeat.

* * *

><p>Katie thanked Mrs. Silas for her freshly baked apple pie and the elderly woman responded with a crooked smile of her own. She was happy to see that people were really involved in the Wawanakwa Lane tradition. She also wished that Sadie was proud of her for handling everything so well.<p>

"A few more hours and I'll go home and take a nice long bath…" Katie whispered to herself.

"That sounds like a good plan."

Katie jumped up startled, then raised her gaze to meet a pair of very familiar baby blue eyes. Justin was standing right in front of her, dressed casually in jeans and a navy polo shirt, smiling charmingly as always.

"H-Hi!" Katie stuttered. "I, uh…I didn't realize the fact that I was talking out loud…" She smiled sheepishly, mentally slapping herself for being an idiot.

"Still, I think a nice long bath after a busy day is a good idea. Have you been here for long?" He asked.

"Since this morning. But I'm not complaining. I actually enjoy volunteering on Pie Day. Well, it's not technically _Pi Day_, because that one's on March 14th, so this one is the Wawanakwa Pie Festival, a more local tradition that was started by…" Katie paused and laughed nervously. "Sorry, I'm babbling."

Justin smiled back and Katie felt that she was close to melting. He was so handsome that it hurt to even look at him.

"Don't worry about it." Justin replied. "So…are we still having dinner tomorrow evening?"

Katie's mouth fell open. She had completely forgotten about her date with Justin! Which was really embarrassing considering that she had been the one to call him and ask him is his offer was still standing.

"I-um….Yes! Yes, of course!" She exclaimed nervously. "I was afraid that maybe…Never mind!" She quickly added, then remembered what she was actually supposed to be doing at that pie stand. "C-Can I offer you anything?"

"A suggestion on when to pick you up would be great." Justin grinned.

Katie blushed and felt her knees going weak. She grabbed the side of the table for extra support. He had the looks of a supermodel and the manners of a gentleman, so how was Katie supposed to go out with him without collapsing in the middle of the outing?

"Eight?" She squeaked, struggling to take her eyes off his body.

"I'll see you at eight." Justin said, before leaning over the table to plant a soft kiss on Katie's cheek.

Her face turned a shade of crimson, as she began giggling like a teenage girl having her first crush. Justin just grinned, winked and left. But not before sneaking a discrete and quick peak on his right, where his former lover was watching the scene and fuming…

* * *

><p>Heather felt her blood pressure rise dangerously. Seeing the bastard who broke her heart talk to Katie was bad enough, but witnessing him <em>kiss<em> her sweet and innocent friend made her want to rip his head off.

When she saw him leave, Heather knew it was time to act. The girls were intensely debating whether frozen food was actually a time saving solution, so she was able to easily slip away with a decent excuse.

"Damn it, I forgot to ask Katie for a plastic fork. I'll be right back." Heather said, but nobody seemed to listen. For once, she appreciated being ignored.

Even on heels, she managed to catch up with Justin fairly quickly. To Heather's relief, they were away from the crowd of neighbors. She didn't want any gossip spreading about her and the new guy on the block. He was strolling carefree, even humming something that resembled a jazz song, when Heather's voice distracted him.

"What the hell were you doing out there?!" She called, anger clearly present in her tone.

Justin smiled to himself, then turned around to face her. To anybody watching them, they seemed ready to start an old-fashioned duel. But the fact that Heather was holding a paper plate with a slice of pie on it and that Justin had his hands in the pockets of his jeans made it look like a scene from a bad comedy, not a cowboy showdown. Luckily for the pair, nobody was there to see them, because they were all lining up for possibly the last free pies of the day.

"Are you jealous, babe?" Justin asked with a smirk.

"Try _furious_. I don't want you near her!" Heather shouted.

"You really _are_ jealous!" Justin laughed. "Don't worry, she's pretty, but she's no you. Still, she seems interesting. And something tells me she's good in the kitchen, but I wonder if she has skills in other areas…"

With an angry tapping of heels on pavement, Heather closed the distance between them and slapped him hard across the face. Justin touched the patch of skin that was turning red and laughed.

"You know I love it when you're aggressive." He said.

"Katie is my best friend!" Heather almost growled. "And if you touch her, I will cut off _your_ best friend and shove it down your throat!" She threated, gesturing towards Justin's crotch.

He glanced down, then looked back at her and frowned.

"You never make _best friends_. What did she do to earn that title? Kill your enemies in cold blood and feed them to starving stray dogs? She sure seems to enjoy charity work…"

"If you come near her, I will hurt you. If you hurt her, I will kill you. Do you understand?!"

In her current emotional state, Heather could have made a grown man run away in terror. She had never seriously threatened anybody since she settled down in the suburbs, except maybe the maids, gardeners and the annoying old ladies from across the street. If her neighbors had seen her now, she would have been more feared than the devil himself. Anybody would have stayed out of her way. But Justin was the exception. He just looked at her and softly chuckled.

"The last time I've checked, I was free to do whatever I wanted and date whoever I pleased. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be dating you, but that little shiny thing on your finger complicates things a bit." He added with a wink.

Heather protectively placed her other hand over the wedding ring. She glared at Justin and prepared to launch another series of threats, but he spoke first.

"You didn't tell her, did you?" Justin asked. "Oh, so this is what it's all about! Your sweet and innocent little friend has no idea about us…"

"There is no _us_!" Heather spat. "It's all buried in the past and it will stay that way!"

Justin's smirk grew wider. "Ah, but this isn't the only thing you're keeping a secret, right? The sweet innocent birdie has no idea about your decadent lifestyle from a few years ago."

Heather tried to keep her poker face, even though the comment painfully hit her. Brightly colored flashes from her past suddenly overwhelmed her. Lights flickering in clubs, champagne pouring down naked bodies, sleazy smiles from strangers…Pictures from a dream. Or more accurately, from a nightmare. For a second, Heather felt close to breaking down in tears, scared of the memories that she had once buried in a dark corner of her mind. They had resurfaced after years of control, triggered by just a smug comment. But she didn't crack. Instead, she lifted her chin with an air of superiority and stared into Justin's eyes.

"She knows enough." Heather replied simply. "And here's what_ you_ should know. If you don't stay away from her, I will risk everything I have, everything I built, just to destroy you."

And then, without another word, she walked past him and headed home, suddenly craving a double whiskey on the rocks. Justin didn't follow her. She was grateful for that.

* * *

><p>The pie festival was finally winding down, as the sun was about to set, signaling everybody that it was time to call it a day. Gwen, Courtney and Bridgette wanted to leave as well, but they didn't feel right leaving Katie alone with all the workload. Despite their repeated attempts to convince her that she needs help, Katie refused to have her friends interfere.<p>

"I'm the one working, while you're supposed to be enjoying yourselves!" Katie insisted.

"Then we'll just stand here until you're done." Gwen replied.

"This might be the most logical thing we've ever done…" Courtney scoffed. Bridgette responded by elbowing her in the stomach.

"Staying here is the least we could do." The blonde said, smiling widely.

As Katie was piling up all the dirty plates, she couldn't help but notice that Beth Waggoner and her small group of next-door neighbors- the gossip squad-were whispering, gasping and glancing towards her direction. Considering it a coincidence, she continued tidying up, until Beth approached her.

"Katie!" Beth cheerfully chirped. "You were Sadie's best friend, right?"

Katie looked up from her pile of dishes and was immediately struck by the bright pink 'Cats are purrfect' t-shirt that Beth was wearing.

"Right." She cautiously replied.

"Great! Then you can enlighten us." Beth said, quickly glancing at her gossip squad. "Was she…ill?"

Katie's brow furrowed. The question confused her.

"I...uh...I don't think so. She didn't seem sick at the time. And she rarely even caught colds. Sadie's immune system was pretty great, to be honest. One time-"

"No, no." Beth cut her off. "What I meant to ask was if she was _mentally_ ill. Because that's our theory, that Sadie was just a bit crazy…"

Katie felt her jaw drop. Beth's question, combined with the nonchalance with which she asked it, made her furious. This was her _best friend_ they were talking about. The nicest, friendliest and most selfless person on the block was now reduced to being 'crazy'.

"Excuse me?" Katie asked between her teeth.

She felt her fists clench and her blood boil. Was this woman really insulting her late friend in such a horrible manner?

"Well, it's the only possible way of explaining the fact that she killed herself. Sane people wouldn't even consider it! Right, girls?" She asked the women standing next to her, but none of them said anything. They seemed tense. "Please tell us, Katie, was she a bit cuckoo?"

Katie's fists opened and closed as she felt her heart beating faster. A lesser known fact about Katie St Clair was that although she did not get angry often, when she did, maintaining her self-control was an almost impossible task. She took a deep breath and a strange smile appeared on her face. Her friends watched the scene with great concern. That smile was fit for an axe murderer, not for Katie.

"Here's my answer to your question." Katie calmly said, as she grabbed a platter of leftover apple pie and slammed it into Beth Waggoner's face.

The crowd gasped in unison. Everybody was staring in shock. Katie St Clair, the nicest and politest person on Wawanakwa Lane, had just thrown a pie at her neighbor.

"What is wrong with you?!" Beth shouted, pieces of apple still stuck to her cheeks.

Katie threw away the platter into the crowd, where Beth's gossip buddies were standing. Her eyes never left the pudgy woman's.

"There's nothing wrong with me. But there is obviously something wrong with _you_, Beth Waggoner! How dare you trash the memory of somebody recently passed?! Have you no shame? If you think you can go around claiming that my best friend was 'crazy', then you're the one who's not well in the head!"

Katie's words stung and anger was present in her every syllable. She didn't care that she was making a scene. Nobody had the right to say such things about Sadie.

"Yes, Sadie committed suicide. But not because she had lost her sanity. Something or someone caused this. And I don't know her motive yet, but whatever it was, nobody has the right to judge her or insult her for it. Now please leave!"

Silently, Beth and the rest of the spectators walked away from the pie stand where Katie was trying to calm herself down. Courtney was the first one to rush towards her.

"What was _that_ all about?! Katie, this is so unlike you."

"Oh, come on, the bitch had it coming." Gwen said, earning a punch in the arm from Bridgette. "Ow, what was that for?!"

"Katie, I understand that what she said was awful, but was that really necessary? You know how people gossip…" Bridgette added, obviously worried.

"Let them talk." Katie hissed. "I don't give a damn. Nobody calls my best friend crazy…You should go home, it's getting late."

She seemed drained by her incident with Beth. But her friend's didn't leave. Instead, Bridgette started piling up paper plates, Gwen emptied the bins underneath the tables into garbage bags, and Courtney hugged Katie, repeating the same calming mantra: 'It's okay, Katie. You're a good friend.'

* * *

><p><em>Every year, the Wawanakwa Pie Festival is in many ways an absolute success. <em>

_People have the chance to show off their baking skills… _

Bridgette cut a few slices from a cherry and vanilla pudding pie that she didn't bring to the festival. She brought one to Geoff, who was watching the sports news in the living room. As she passed him the plate with his slice, she planted a kiss on his cheek. He grinned and pulled her in his lap for a proper kiss.

_To bond with their neighbors…_

Courtney arrived home and threw a piece of pie in Duncan's lap. He laughed at her passive aggressive gesture and ate the cherry pie anyway. She gave him an exasperated sigh and went upstairs, where she was happy to discover a well-written statement for court on her desk.

_Or to try something new…_

Gwen searched through her medicine cabinet for anything that could cure her indigestion. She regretted eating so many pies with so many different and strange flavors.

_But the highlight of the event will always be the ability to gossip a bit…_

As Heather was finishing her drink on her porch, she overheard two women loudly talking on the street.

"I'm telling you, Katie St Clair totally flipped!"

"I know, I didn't think she would be capable of _that_!"

Heather's brow furrowed. She reached for her phone and quickly dialed.

_Of course, things might not always go smoothly. Because, truthfully, life isn't always as sweet as pie…_

Katie arrived home only to see a poster advertising anger management classes glued to her front door. She ripped it, crumpled it into a ball and threw it away, trying to ignore the tears stinging her eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Guess who's back to writing some drama, dears? ;)<strong>


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